It’s amazing what little things can satisfy you: like beating the bus home on your bike, like dancing around like a maniac when you’re home alone, like finishing a piece of homework days before its actually due. Sometimes, it’s those little things in life that I live for, that I yearn for. Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that make my life all worth while.

***


“Look at this road! It’s so smooth!” Mom said from the front of our little black Audi. We, my parents, my brother and I, were on our way to our neighbor’s house (who owned their own photography business), to look at my brothers senior pictures. Knowing him, it would probably take a while for him to choose which pictures he wanted. I prepared myself for a long night.

“There aren’t any more potholes to weave around.” Dad said in reply to my mother’s remark.

I leaned forward in my seat and looked out the window. I could see the dark, smooth new layer of concrete in the fading light. I guess I had noticed a lot of construction signs and trucks. I just hadn’t paid much attention to it; it was just a road after all.

Once we got to their house, they welcomed us at the door. They had their projector all set up in their living room already, the walls were decorated with photos of their other customers, and I could smell the faint smell of cookies. I smiled, hey if there’s cookies involved I’ll stay for a while.

Sure enough cookies were brought out to us as soon as we settled in. As I munched on the cookies, trying not to get crumbs everywhere, I watched the slideshow of photos. All of them were very dramatic and had amazing clarity. I squinted at my brother’s face in them. Had he really gotten that old? He looked like a grown man, an adult almost.

I flashed to a memory of him and I building Legos in his room, him patiently showing me how to fit the blocks together. Then, another memory of him and I waiting our turn for our piano lessons. Next, another of us coming up with a game plan in a match of wrestling with Dad. It was us just being the little kids that we once were. I guess I have changed a little too, but not as noticeably as him. He had a beard, a tattoo, a car. Everything had changed. And as much as it pained me to except, in a year he’d be gone at college.

I finished my cookie.

“Are you sure those are the ones you want?” Mom asked sitting forward in her chair. He nodded, obviously satisfied.

“Alright you and your sister head home, while Mom and I pay.” Dad said.

“You guys go ahead and walk, it’s not too cold.” Mom smiled and ushered us out the door.

At first we walked slowly, until we reached the main road. The road was smooth from the new paving and the moonlight made it sparkle in the dark. There were no cars. I looked over at my brother. He was hunched over fiddling with his shoes.

“What are you doing?” I said into the silence of the night.

“Going for a run!” He laughed and ripped off his shoes. He swung them over his shoulder and he was gone. I screamed for him to wait for me as I pulled off my own shoes. I pumped my legs and ran after him. My bare feet slapped against the pavement. I was no match for him and his strong legs, but I managed to bring him back into sight. A nearby house light shone on his face and I smiled when I saw that he was doing the same.

Surprisingly, I didn’t slow down as we ran. I didn’t feel tired or out of breath. I felt like I was almost flying, with nothing but the smooth concrete beneath my feet holding me down. I spread my arms out wide, a shoe in each hand.

I was wrong. Yes, my brother and I had grown up, that was part of life, but I was wrong to worry that things had changed between us. Sure we didn’t play with toys or wrestle anymore, but that didn’t mean that we had nothing at all. We just had to find different ways to connect. I had just unlocked one of those ways.
I could run like this forever.

***


In the end, no matter how small things may seem, they are, more often than not, what fulfill you the most. It’s just your choice whether or not to turn it into something remember able. That’s what’s best about life; you never know where a burst of happiness will come from. For me, it came from nothing but a slab of fresh pavement.