90s Dreaming

 As the rain clears,

I hear baby doves chirping- 

I smell the petrichor as it floods my memories with childhood snapshots.

The remnants of a storm or Spring morning dew on my ankles as I walk barefoot in my grandmother's backyard-

Bits of mud sticking to my toes-

So carelessly happy as I walk toward the honeysuckles that beg to meet my lips.

A sweet taste,

Forever ingrained, accompanied by bleeding hearts and the songs of robins. 

Humming melodies and tiptoeing to my grandfather's garden, 

Where I take first fulls of cherry tomatoes and snack until my heart's content.

My little slice of paradise,

My home away from home.

That house had a huge hand in raising me- from it's chilly cellar, to its hand built wooden swingset, to the flowers my grandmother and I so tediously tended to.

Fresh lemonade on hot summer days,

Playing in the sprinkler in the front lawn,

Finding baby birds kicked from their nest,

Baking cookies from scratch, 

And stealing from grandpa's candy stash- 

I'd give anything to fall asleep on a cool spring evening, with the windows open, and a slow breeze tickling my face- as I lay on the living room floor, covered with a handmade quilt, falling asleep to 90s gameshows.