Come to think of it, I had a relatively normal childhood. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and I was like so. Completely normal. I have an older brother and younger sister as well as two very loving parents. Quite the average American family and still would be, if I had not changed our perspective of normal.
I just wanted to be active! Just like any normal child of five would.
You may ask, “Why does the story start here?" Well because honestly, I don't have any memories of before then. And of course I wouldn't after such a fateful day as such. But I am skipping ahead. Please forgive me, I get excited.
Five years old, oh what an important year of a young child's life. The very year you get to go to this all mysterious Kindergarten. Your parents cry and wish you well or it may be you doing the crying and the parents overjoyed with the thought of you out of their hair for a while. Either way, it's the start of a new life.
I was quite a solid student. I had already learned the alphabet and how to count to 50. I was also athletic. With the genes of my parents, how could I not be? I would constantly compete with classmates and sometimes play with the older kids. This all sounds familiar right? Not unlike possibly yourself at this said age.
This week, I was overly happy and anxious to get through the school week. Grandma was coming to Colorado. I love grandma, from her perfume to her happy wrinkled face. But, today was also kickball on recess and I was determined to play hard.
When that bell finally rang, I ran to the cafeteria, scarfed down my lunch, and waited to be released outside in the beautiful July weather. I was the first one onto the blacktop that day, which meant I was a captain.
After choosing a strong team, I was first to bat. I put on a confident smile and awaited the pitch. The ball ripped the concrete as it sped towards my feet. I closed my eyes and swung my foot forward with all of the force my small body could muster. And with a faint ting of a hit ball, I was off to the races! First, second, third. I was going all the way!
Slam! I was on my hands and knees crying before I knew it. I had run into someone from a different game. I tried to get up to finish and get the point but my left leg was pained. I cried louder and as peers eyes looked in shock, a teacher came to my side and asked me if I could stand to go to the nurse. Of course I couldn't. A chair was soon ushered to me and I was wheeled to the nurse. I might've enjoyed all of the attention but my leg! It hurt so bad.
The nurse gave me a band-aid and a cracker before winking and giving me some sprite in a cup. That was for sick kids! I smiled and finished my snacks quickly, ready to go throughout the day which did in fact pass speedily.
The next week was a blur and before you knew it, grandma went back to Oregon. After many fireworks and fun activities, school started back up. The scratch on my leg disappeared, however, the pain was still ever present. Soon I was limping profusely and not participating in sports with my usual gusto. My mother, the intelligent and loving woman she is, took note of this and scheduled a doctor's appointment to see if my leg was hurt in any way. It hurt so much so, that my mother carried me to the x-ray room.
I was given diagnosis of a broken leg, given a cast, and sent home. The doctors said they would continue to look at the x-rays and see if they could find a cause.
I didn't care about anything they said because just the week before, “The Polar Express" was released and I was eager to see it.
The next Friday, my wish was granted. A wonderful story which I love even to this day. Something strange happened. Thus changing the normal.
Kori was expecting the call but the spoken contents utterly destroyed her hope. How could her son, a perfect and loving child, have this happen to him?
My mother walked in with tears in her eyes. She pulled me into a tight hug. Sobbing, she ruffled my hair and continued to tell me how much she loved me. “I know," I said, disoriented, “It's okay. Don't cry mom."
She wiped her tears and smiled a bit before her smile waved into a heartbroken frown again.
“I'm okay mom. Everything is okay."
The last words of a normal child.
