don't think twice it's alrigh

your eyes widen as your mother's tender hands clasp the huge pink box and place it in front of you.

you wipe your dirty hands on the front of your sundress and feel the space in your mouth where your left big tooth should be with the tip of your tongue.

your giggling friends all sit in a circle around you and watch as you carefully untie the outrageously large silver bow tied around the box.

your heart begins to race, your tiny hands shaking and your toothless smirk turning into a wide grin.

you pick the tape off each perfectly folded corner of wrapping paper, the eyes of the other children following your every move.

as you grow more and more impatient, your cautious tears turn into ruthless hacking at the now destroyed pink paper.

finally, you find the raw cardboard box hidden beneath the layers of beautiful tissue.

and you look up at mummy, waiting for some sign of encouragement to open the box.

and she looks at you with her eyes that say "go ahead".

and everyone watches as you slowly lift the top.

and all around you, surprise and joy fills the faces of all the young children, their giant smiles warming the hearts of the adults drinking beer and white wine in the garden.

and you...

you just sit.

and you stare.

and you look inside the box eight more times.

you scrounge around for something more.

something else.

but that's it.

that's it.

... to be continued.

(i turned 16 today. i feel the same.)

(i had a good day.)

(my year wasn't so bad, either.)

xx