There is a First Time for Everything

As a kid my constant desire was independence. Nothing bothered me more than the invisible boundaries that chained me to my house, especially during the blistering summers I suffered through each year. Trapped in my claustrophobic backyard I spent the hours sprawled in the shade of our raspberry patch, languidly picking plump red berries and contemplating childish things like recess politics and the origins of the universe. From June to August life got hotter and smaller, and steadily the drowsiness pressed in on all sides and lulled me into vapidness. Time passed unpunctuated by life.
But one particular summer afternoon was marked by a blip that has left me staggering still. In a burst of exuberant rebellion I slipped out of my stupor and onto the streets. The garden gate opened with such ease that the god of play must have been on my side. Alone and exhilarated I wandered. The sky was vibrantly blue, so smooth I felt reflected by it. The waxy leaves that fluttered above my head and down the street created a green artery that lead me into another world. The sidewalk was my intrepid guide and we journeyed together, endlessly it seemed in my mind. Everything glowed effervescently and the unknown welcomed me, a strange child into a strange land. When the sun began to set the shimmer slowly faded into the night, and soon enough I was picked up by a local police man. “Children shouldn’t wander alone,” he said gruffly. “Your parents are very worried about you.”
My young mind was flooded with a feeling that I will never forget; A feeling that, many years later, still tingles in the pit of my stomach and causes my breath to quicken and catch in my throat. Despite my parent’s sighs of relief as they embraced me that evening, I was too distracted by the boundaries that I was once again ensnared in. I had tasted freedom, and not just freedom, but the joy of exploration that awaited me at the end of our driveway.
These days I wander in much grander places. Still, the memory of my first experience stepping into the undiscovered remains golden and sweet in the back of my mind. I can still smell the tang of the hot asphalt mingling with the fragrance of the summer breeze. I can still hear the robin’s song. I can still feel the pavement beneath my feet.
Truthfully, I’ll never forget the day my heart stepped out of my chest and became a vagabond. Even now it impels me forward into adventure.