The Joy of Childhood

The morning frost had just lifted as the first signs of the sun began to creep over the horizon. It had been bitterly cold for the past week and last night there was a storm that left everything covered in a blanket of white. The rolling hills, the barns, and the trees all covered in varying amounts of snow. The clean white cover, and the cool, quiet mountain air, gave the entire valley a peaceful, pristine appearance.

The peace was soon broken by the kids who lived in the area. Although the animals were all in the barn and the adults were bundled up inside, the kids were eager to get outside. Thanks to the prolonged cold spell and the abundant snowfall, the ice on the pond was now thick enough for them to skate.

Kids in this area have been playing hockey since they could walk, and although they play on ice rinks most of the year, nothing beats skating on a frozen pond. As they all converged near the street and began the decent down to the pond they laughed and joked, all of them giddy with excitement.

They were wearing their usual attire and had all of their gear ready to go, these opportunities don’t happen many times per year, so the chance to skate on a frozen pond has become somewhat of a scared ritual for them.

They begin to hastily put on their skates and get ready to go out onto the ice. Although they know the ice is ok to skate there is always a little hesitation when first stepping out on the pond. Especially on the first skate of the winter, which today happened to be. After a few less that scientific trials they deemed it safe and the first brave kids skated out, once they were all on the ice they became more comfortable and began to skate around.

The sound of the kids joy and laughter competed only with the sound of the skates cutting through the ice. With every stride of every kid the crisp, clean sound of their ice skate slicing through the ice sounded like a pack of animals spreading out across the ice. The crimping and crunching of the ice was broken up occasionally by one of the kids coming to a sudden stop with both skates at a 45 degree angle causing ice to burst into the air and float back down.

The sounds of their voices and the grinding of their skates echoing through the valley, amplifying the sound. This added ambiance and their own dreams of NHL stardom increase the magnitude of skating on this frozen pond, at least in their minds.

Since days like this don’t come around often once they are done they go home, eat, and come back and skate more.

To them at that time, skating on that pond was not only the most important thing, it was really the only thing that mattered. The worries and problems that come with adulthood are still more than a decade away for these kids, to them not getting to skate is the worst thing that could happen.

When does this change?

Does it come with age?

Does it come from experience?

Or is that just what happens when we become adults?

None of these things matter to them yet, they are too focused on the moment. Pretending to be their favorite hockey player, scoring the game winning goal, having the whole crowd cheering for them. The kids on the pond, sadly, will never go on to play professional hockey, a couple of them will never do anything of value with their lives.

But no matter where they are or what they are doing when the questions asked before will come to them. They will think back to the days with their friends, days spent outside skating in the sun in a frozen lake with all of their friends.