Only yesterday

It seems it was only yesterday that my brother and I shared a room painted like the ocean. Nets hung from the ceiling with lanterns from ships and seashells caught inside. We fell asleep watching a big friendly whale smile at us from one wall.

It seems like only yesterday that we had to move to the “new house”, where my parents have now lived for 26 years. Not long after we moved, they brought my baby sister home from the hospital.

It seems like only yesterday when my brother and I played with Matchbox cars in the jungle that was our yard. The tall grass served as trees and the sidewalk was a canyon to be jumped over. I don’t know how many vehicles were lost in that yard.

It seems like only yesterday that I nervously asked Kim to the prom. So nervously, in fact, that she didn’t hear what I said but pretended to and mumbled an answer. I had to ask again two days later.

It seems like only yesterday that I aced a physics final by pulling an all-nighter. During one of my breaks, I walked out of the dorm and wandered the campus at 3 in the morning, a solitary figure without a destination. The snow, the icicles, the soft quiet hush of winter belonged only to me.

It seems like only yesterday that I first laid eyes on my wife. She needed a roommate and I answered the ad, showing up in an outfit that clearly demonstrated my complete lack of fashion sense. She thought I was harmless. I thought she was beautiful.

It was only yesterday that my daughter turned five years old. She politely requested a Madeline cake, and thanked everyone for coming. In the fall, she’ll be going to school.

I’m thinking of painting a whale on the wall of her room. Because eventually, tomorrow will seem like only yesterday.