What is childhood, if not the paper cuts in the pads of our fingertips that we'd cry about at lunchtimes? What is childhood, if not the splinters that got stuck in our palms from climbing trees we shouldn't have been? What is childhood, if not the thorns from the rose bushes that were embedded in our arms that we'd help each other pull out with tweezers? What is childhood, if not the marks on our knees from the many times we'd fallen and split them open? What is childhood, if not the bruises on our shins that came from soccer balls and tennis rackets? What is childhood, if not the skid marks in the grass where we fell off your bike almost every day? What is childhood, if not the mud buried so deep under our fingernails that we had to use toothpicks to clean it? What is childhood, if not the battle scars of our bodies, the ones we carry with us, as a living reminder, that our happiest days are forever encased in our souls, sewn into our skin, protected forever in our blood?