The screams of childhood permeate my closed windows. Did I once run between houses with my neighborhood friends as the summer nights, free from obligations, extended long past normal bedtimes? My wish for them, is not just more nights when freeze tag erases petty arguments of the day, but also that they remember. If not the exact players or game, but the feeling of being unburdened by what adulthood brings. For a moment I consider opening my window to let in the evening breeze and their laughter. But somehow I fear by doing so I will somehow shift to them some of the weight that I carry. And just for one more night. For one more summer. For just a little longer, I want them to believe they are light enough to be carried up by a balloon.
