The Summer I was Seven

Seven years old
The world was a different place
Summer time, finally!
Put on my bathing suit
Everyday, jump in the river
As soon as I woke up
To the family I was the ‘River Rat’
August rolled around
Our annual family camping trip
My favorite time of the year
A week with my best friends
Cousins; Chelsea, Josh, Amanda, Earl, Sean
Brothers; Ryan and Kevin
Over the bridge to Canada
To the Pinery we go
A caravan of cars, packed with tents
Grills, clothes, food, and love
We arrive and its straight to setting up the tents
If only I could just put on my suit
And hurry to the lake
Four adjacent campgrounds
Camps set up, we throw on our suits
A tough climb up the sandy trails
And we are finally to the lake;
“Race you to the water!”
SPLASH! All of us kids having a ball
Always the time of our lives
When dusk arrives we put on our night gear
Kick the can was the game of choice,
“Not it!” “Ali Ali Oxen Free!”
Around the campfire the family gathers
Everyone looking up at the stars
Pitch black with the fire lit
We all watch the meteor showers
Everyone amazed, nothing could be better, life was great
Around the campfire we all sit
Its time to tell spooky stories
“Red Eyes”
Chelsea and I inseparable, snuggling up
Screaming at the top of our lungs
In the woods near by,
Chelsea and I see too glowing Red Eyes
To our daddy’s lap we jump
Having the time of our lives
Ten years later we come to find out,
When Kevin and Earl disappeared
They took a pink towel and two flashlights
Staked out in the woods and turned them on
Scared the shit out of us and gave us a good time
That summer was a blast
No worries, no trouble, all fun and games
In our hearts and our memories
Family; Love; Forever