Age

When you are younger no one ever tells you about this feeling
When you are growing up life is all about school and uniforms and packed lunches, running for a bus or getting a lift with your full time hours Mum, dropping us all in on her way to work.
Coming home for dinner before your Dad has even finished his day
Seeing him as you get ready for bed.
Weekends filled with films and playing in your rooms and homework and house chores.
Swings and Park walks
Pocket money and hobbies and guitar lessons and maths tuition
Time was timeless
Birthdays were special and your age was on the cake in lights that filled your heart full and heavy with excitement
Friends stayed over or bounced in castles in the garden.
Cake and games and sweets and belly ache
Love surrounded everything
You didn't want to go to bed and you could never get up
Breakfast laid out in the kitchen
Mug of tea and cereal
Packed lunch prepared and ready for the day of learning
Nothing at all to fear
Other than the nightmares that stalked my nights some times due to past experiences returning in the darkness and the shadows
Christmas day was always special and magical
Excited so much I would shake
I couldn't contain my joy
Family all around
Best clothes laid out to see grandparents and aunties and uncles
New tights and shoes
Gloves and coats
Duffel coats - my favourite
Age was an exciting experience
Every year counting up by the years, months and weeks
Wanting to get older and older
Now in my thirties, age is ageless
I no longer feel in sync
Life has carried on ticking by, faster than it ever did
The mirror has changed
Gotten older, the spark is there but sometimes seems hidden
Got to look a little harder some days