It was not a conscious act on my part; I did not set out to reclaim these memories of my childhood. It was a gift.
It was a typically typical trip to the park. They were off—running, laughing, pretending, fighting, making up—and then off and running again. I was on the bench, reading, occasionally glancing up to watch their antics or when they wanted my attention. “Mummy, look at me! Did you see that? Are you watching? Look what I can do.”
Gone are the summers of my childhood, a time when summers were about playing with friends for hours on end……..unsupervised. My parents didn’t hover over us like stealth helicopters swooping in when fights broke out or dangerous activities like hanging upside down on the monkey bars or riding our banana bikes with no hands occurred.