I’m from the excitement
of knowing something good
is right around the corner.

I am from the notes on a music staff,
the rhythms and keys that look so confusing
until you play them, and realize that they are
not so difficult after all

I am from the sea, the crashing of waves
against the rocks
I’m from waterskiing, the exhilaration
of 30 mile per hour winds
blowing through my hair
I’m from the dock, swinging my feet
above the gentle waters

I’m from the moon, the twinkle of the stars
in the night sky.
I’m from the sun, fun, and heat

I’m from the top shelf of my closet,
filled with the junk I couldn’t bear
to throw away
I am from the crawlspace under the stairs,
the perfect place to tell ghost stories

I’m from listening to radio,
dancing and dancing until
I run out of energy

I am from Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger,
and the Hundred Acre Wood
I’m from sucking my thumb
and the braces that resulted from it

I am from those annual family reunions
in Missouri, fishing daily
with my great- grandpa
I am from the afternoon
spent with great- grandma
when she taught me to be handy
with a needle and thread

I am from those summers
spent on the water, the pruny fingers
and the leftover sunburn fading away
I am from those winter months
spent on the slopes, burdened by the
chapped lips and the heat warmers that always
stopped working just as the blizzard started up

I am from the games of Candy Land
with my family, always racing to see
who would get the blue pawn
I am from the many rounds of
Chutes and Ladders, always wanting to
slide down the chutes, because they looked
like so much fun

I am from my first bike, the Barbie streamers
and training wheels
I’m from the school sandbox, with the toy
dinosaurs and the plastic molds that always
made perfect sand castles

I am from the hand-knit baby blankey squares,
pink and blue and green and purple and yellow
I am from my giant stuffed purple Barney and
Tickle-Me-Elmo

I’m from the hated trips to the dentist
my appointments always during lunch
but I couldn’t eat for an hour
I am from the annual checkup with the doctor,
the evil glint of the nurse who had to give me shots

I’m from the scar on my finger
when my cat attacked me because I tried to push
him off my chair
I am from the never-painted fingernails
because they were always too short

I’m from the books I read, the ones I like to
curl up with around the fire
I am from the food my mom makes,
prepared with love and care

I’m from my friends, the ones who give me
the confidence to propel me through my day

I’m from those memories, the ones that make
me smile as I go about my day
I am from the people that will stay with me forever

I am from those moments, those filled
with laughter and joy
I am from those memories, the ones that weren’t
captured on film but were captured in my heart.