8.31.2004

Olly-Olly-Oxen-Free

I was jogging last night at the local dog park with my dog, Shiner. He likes jogging. He likes the dog park. He just doesn’t like other dogs. Just like me, he is not normal.

I have not been to the dog park in a long time – primarily because Shiner hates other dogs. They have added dirt trails that wind through heavy trees. This allows for lots of shade during the day and a wonderful playground for lightening bugs at night.

I love lightening bugs. They seem to make the early evening magical. They remind me of when I was a little girl. We would play outside until dark, capturing the lightening bugs and putting them in a jar with grass. I don’t know why we put grass in the jar, but we did. It was as if I captured part of the magic and put it in a jar for later use. My brother, not loving the bugs as much as me, would squish the bugs and rub the glowing part on his face. He would then sneak up and scare me – looking like some evil Indian. I would scream, he would get in trouble. Always a good time.

I loved playing outside at night – Ghost in the Graveyard, Tag, Spin the Bottle, Kick the Can…you name it, we played it. As I was watching the lightening bugs last night while running, I began thinking about those games that we played when we were little. It is funny how I don’t remember being cold, or getting eaten by mosquitoes, or being hungry or bored. I only remember LOVING every minute of it and being sad when I had to go inside. We need more fun like that as adults. We need to have times when the daily problems don’t matter, when you don’t notice the mosquitoes biting. We need to have more fun.

Anyone for a game of Ghost in the Graveyard?