Swings and things

So I went out with Justy after class today. We made a slushy run out to Penn Hills. To a place that is now called Plum Convenience instead of seven eleven. Horrible. 7-eleven's should not be changed around so much, because i want my slushies dammit. They're getting harder and harder to find every year. Oh how things change...
Then we went to Plum Paradise Park place for some swing time. I remember when it was built and it was such a big deal. Now the playground has weeds all over the place! That little walkway with the bricks people paid to have their names put on? Grass growing between them. So sad how things change.
Don't get me wrong, the swings are there and still fantastic (even if it's only two and a tire swing, which i will get to in a second.). It's just that it's kinda sad to see the places of your childhood slowly change and become less cared for. They get sucked under the tide of time to re-emerge as a mockery of the simplistic beauty it once possessed. The tire swing.. its not even a real tire now. It's some bright yellow hollow thing made of.. PLASTIC! Cause all playgrounds are slowly becoming infected with this strange plastic virus. It comes in and eats away at all the metals and rubbers and wood and spits them back out as plastic bores. Hopefully, the tire swing is the only thing they'll change.
One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that I still love doing stupid childish things like going to the park. It's so joyful to get on a swingset and go. The breeze caressing your face, the way your blood starts pumping as you pump your legs, getting higher and higher... It's all so soothing. Especially at night. The night air enhances any experience. Add in the feeling that you're floating in the darkness, and it really cleanses the soul. It's silly but it makes me happy.
Then blah, you have to come back to your adult life, back to the responsibilities. Homework and work, cooking and laundry. So mundane. Life is still beautiful in its own complicated way. The joys and pleasures you experience as you age become more satisfying on a deeper level. You're able to appreciate the wonders of living more because you better realize how terrible things can really be. I'm a better person for all that I've experienced and in many ways happier now than I was then. Even so, sometimes you want to hop on a swing and just enjoy life for the simple things the way you once did.