My Ghost "Peaches"

I woke up this morning to the ghost of a memory.  I must have been about 9 or 10 and was sleeping over at my "best friends" house.  I tried not to go to the bathroom after we went to bed but sometimes you just couldn't help it!  I tip toed quietly and made it successfully across the house....unfortunately, on the way back to her room their dog Peaches came flying at the back of my ankles, ready to protect her people.  I ran at an amazing speed to the door and quickly closed it on the crazed dog and hopped quickly back into the safety of our shared bed.

As I lay there this morning thinking about that moment, other memories came back.  I could close my eyes and remember clearly playing "Horse" in their neighbor’s makeshift basketball court in the driveway.  We, her younger brother and the two neighbor boy’s next door doing round after round.  I'm sure I never won a game. 

I thought those days would last forever.  I even thought we would all still know each other until we were as old as our parents were then. (They seemed so old then but now I realize I have gone past that and don't feel that old!)  It didn't last.  We slowly separated and went our way into our own lives.  Their parents have all passed now and I'm off on the other end of the country.  As I look back, I'm not even sure sometimes if I wasn't more of an annoyance than a friend sometimes...but those childhood years are still alive in my head and they are still friends there in that corner of my heart I tuck away for memories and dreams.