A Simple Summer's Question

The children crowd around me,

And say they want to grow as big as me,

They speak of having a job,

And the perfect wedding dress,

They giggle and ask me,

"What's it like to be all grown up?"

I chuckle back at them,

And take a simple sigh,

I look at them and give them

The greatest answer I could give:

"When you have grown,

You will come to see,

The very same idea that worked its way to me,

Some day you will have grown,

With responsibilities and duties to fufill,

And think upon a time where things were much simpler,

Where paper meant drawings, not essays or taxes,

And a good day meant almost every day, rather than the weekend,

You'll think back on a time like this right now,

When Barbies and ice cream were the greatest things you could get,

And a water day in the sprinklers was the most fun you could have,

You'll look back,

When the stresses are piling high,

And wish you could come back to a day like today,

When the only thing to worry about,

Was how many times you could ask me,

'Why?'"

They looked at me with wonder,

And pondered just a few,

Before the littlest one in the back piped up,

"Can I have some apple juice?"