2010

My grandma called me over as I heard the back door squeak open. I ran towards her voice as I gently placed down my doll that my four-year-old self had been playing with. I made my way through the back door, dodging under my grandma’s laundry basket she had been holding. 

After I made it outside, I darted to the clothesline and stood next to the brightly colored airplane swing. The colors of marmalade and honey shone brightly in the afternoon sunlight. Impatiently, I call for my grandma to hurry so I can swing.

She let out a laugh and wandered over to me. Setting down her laundry basket, she lifts me into the swing and buckles the seatbelt. Excited, I swing my feet back and forth, waiting for her to push me. 

“Three…two…one…take off!” I giggle as I shoot into the sky, imagining that I am reaching for the bright sun up above. 

2017

As I walk out the back door, I am met with the laughter and loudness of all my relatives conversing on the patio. I make my way over to my three cousins and we decide to go swing. We head over to the clothesline, where three swings are hung, along with the airplane swing. 

We fight over which swing each person should get. “I get the long swing because I’m taller,” said my eldest cousin, Jack.

“Well, then what swing is left for me?” I ask. They all laugh and point at the airplane swing. I angrily stared back at them before turning around and heading towards the swing. How would I even fit my legs in the seat? 

The top of the swing was covered in thick dust. I brushed off the dust with my hand and shoved my butt into the small seat at the center of the airplane. “Could someone at least push me?” I ask as my cousin Nicole made her way behind me and gave me a quick push. 

We all sat there for a while and swung as our parents conversed on the patio.

2024

After walking back from the garden, my sister and I make our way to the back door. It was such a beautiful day outside, it would be a waste to spend any time inside. “Wait, let's go on the swings before we head in,” I suggested to my sister. She agrees and we wander to the clothesline. 

I make my way to the longer of the three swings and sit down. “I think you should use the airplane swing,” joked my sister. I laugh and glance over to the swing. It was all rundown now. One of the ropes holding it up had fallen, and the once bright colors now faded.

“I wish I could use it. Maybe we can ask Grandma to fix it for us,” I said. The way nature was overtaking the swing made me remember how it used to be. I remember walking to the clothesline with grandma and swinging on the brightly colored airplane. We would do it every week.

Boy, it had already been so long since then. I watched as the swing became older and older, and the swing watched my family change. That swing had already seen fourteen years of history.  Every family gathering. Every laundry day. Every moment.