Hoppity Hopper

It seems I really loved to hop around, to have my feet come off, then back on ground. I got a pogo stick I used all year and wore out quickly once I learned to steer! At 15, I was not the same small kid, for there were other fun things that I did. However, I still liked some childish things like Sting Ray bikes and trampolines and swings. That year appeared in stores a brand new toy, a grand delight for every girl and boy. And though a woman I had now become, that Christmas I just had to have me one! This last big toy of mine I won’t forget because it brought me also some regret. A toy once you start, you can hardly stop: Can you guess? It was the Hoppity Hop. This toy was just a big strong rubber ball. You’d grip its handles so you wouldn’t fall. I loved to bounce around the yard on it, and all I had to do was simply sit! A boy I kind of liked showed up one day. I didn’t know he’d come and seen me play until I got up off that crazy ball and went to tell him “hi,” but that’s not all. . . I learned the back side of my shorts had split. The whole time he was there, I never knew it. My sisters later told me. Well, that guy simply stayed and didn’t bat an eye! I felt so idiotic and was sure he must have found me kind of immature, a grown girl hopping all around her lawn! But worse was how I felt once he had gone. He’d seen my shorts ripped from behind, and then said nothing. I could not face him again. So silly! He still liked me after all. . . but I abandoned him and that dang ball! 1/15/2022 for Natasha L. Scragg's Funny Memories Poetry Contest