In a jar.

I think when most people look back on their childhood, they think of what went wrong. Their parents' divorce, being the unpopular kid at school, not getting enough hugs, whatever.

The sadness isn't there for me though. We played kickball in the front yard until the street lights came on, caught fireflies in our hands at night, ran around barefoot, made homemade ice cream on the back porch, raced our bikes to the bottom of our cul-de-sac (or "the court," as we called it) everyday.

I don't know why I forget all the bad - the divorce, the absent father, being one of the only white kids in an all-black elementary and middle school. I guess my family made up for it.

My Papa, who we spent most of our time with in the afternoon when my grandmother and mom were at work (he owned a construction business, so he took off when we needed him), made life magical. He - along with my mom and grandma - gave us so much love we couldn't help but be happy. I'm sure all the after school Happy Meals from Mickey D's helped too.

We didn't have everything we wanted. And we didn't do all the things we wanted. But damn if we weren't thankful for what we were able to do.

That new video - Fireflies by Owl City - makes me think about that time. When everything moved at a slower pace. When I spent my time daydreaming about how my toys would play with each other when i was away at school. When we'd race home to watch "Saved by the Bell," then all meet outside for a game of kickball.

I'm so thankful for the way my life has unfolded. And for all the fireflies that hugged me along the way.