Going to the Park with my Sisters

I wake up to the sun shining warmly onto the bed from the window above my bed. The sky is blue and I can hear the birds outside, busy gathering twigs and grass for their nests and happily talking to each other. I look for the clock and see that I slept in late. It is 11:30 in the morning, the day has long begun. I don't worry though. It is Saturday, the first day of the weekend, and I know I am not the last to wake up. I don't even have to look for her to know that my little sister Lindsay is still fast asleep and will be for at least another hour. I rub my eyes and lay for a moment, still trying to wake up. I hear Elizabeth downstairs, talking happily. She would have been the first one awake. I hear Brandon telling a story in his many different accents and Matthew laughing with him. I don't hear momma but I know she is probably in her office, either online or trying to clean the mess that seems to never go away. The office is where we both spend a lot of our day, and especially on a Saturday, things can get messy fast. In a house with seven people living in it, things can get noisy on days where everyone is home. But that is how I like things. I like for everyone to be home together as a family. It is how things should be. I finallly feel awake enough so I crawl out of bed and walk downstairs. My little six year old sister, Elizabeth, is the first to greet me. She yells my name and hugs me tight. A good way to start the day. I say my hellos and walk to the office where sure enough, my momma is inside, on her laptop. She smiles at me and my heart warms inside. I smile back and say good morning and sit in my chair with her. I feel like I can tell my mom anything so I tell her about the nightmares I had the night before. Running from the ghosts of my past and being alone. Those thoughts filled my mind then but never do when I'm with mom. I smile, knowing I'm safe from my dreams and talk soon turns to what we are going to do during the day. Mom tells me that Elizabeth was wanting to go to the park and that she would like both myself and Lindsay to take her. I agree and Elizabeth is excited. She bounces happily to grab her coat and scarf while Lindsay and I prepare for the trip. Although the sun is out, it hides behind the looming clouds that blot the sky. The wind races through the street, strong enough to clean the leaves from the bare trees that have fallen to the waiting streets below. We all bundle up warmly and soon we are ready. Momma drives us to the park on request. It is too far to walk with a six year old in tow. We arrive at the park and soon are alone. Elizabeth immediately squeals with joy and is running to the metal toy structure with a happiness I haven't seen in her for a couple days. She is carefree and glows with the sunshine all young children carry in them. Lindsay and I walk and watch her carefully. Although it is a small town and in the middle of the day, you never know what can go wrong. We both share the unspoken understanding that we will make sure we always know where she is. I watch her play happily and smile. The wind whips around me and my face is cold. I pull my coat around me and sit on the cold bench with my sister. I watch the squirells run up the trunk of the tree and watch the birds fly around, riding playfully on the wind. The sky is grey, like Heavenly Father wiped a grey and white watercolor brush across the sky lazily. The air is crisp and sharp, making me breathe in sharply. I smell the cold metal of the play toys and the sweet grass that struggled all winter to survive through the cold. All too soon the day turns to dusk and the shadows grow long and thick on the world, wrapping it in a tight blanket of darkness. Momma comes to get us and it is too soon in a six year olds mind. She is pouting but I see the exhaustion in her face. Her cheeks are bright like cherries and she isn't walking as bouncily as she did when we first arrived. We arrive back home and we all hurry inside to escape the cold. The night is here and the day is ending. But what a perfect day with my family it was.