Naked

         I had moved back home and lived only fifteen minutes from my cousin Kristina.  We were already friends but were now able to become even closer not having to go a year between seeing each other.  It was fifth grade and we were eleven.  Krissy lived on the river, where we would spend countless hours swimming and kayaking.  One of us, probably me, suggested skinny dipping during one of our sleepovers.  We’d never done it before and it sounded fun and exciting.  Krissy, without consulting me, asked her mom if we could.  Why she asked her mom, I did not know.  Surprisingly, Aunt Shelley said yes and we planned to go that night.  Being eleven year olds, we couldn’t possibly stay up late enough on our own, so we set an alarm and went to sleep, thrilled for the adventure that awaited us.  When the alarm went off around midnight, getting out of our warm beds to jump in the freezing river did not sound fun or exciting.

            The next morning we were disappointed we’d wasted our opportunity and headed for the river in regular swimming attire.  Before jumping in, we looked around and realized we did all sorts of embarrassing things during the day all the time, like wearing our one pieces backwards so the holes were in all the wrong places.  Why not go skinny dipping… right now?  Smiling at the idea of staying warm and accomplishing our goal, we stripped and dove in.  After splashing around for some time we remembered Krissy’s dock is located very close to the local public dock.  We hid frantically at the sight of an elderly gentleman fishing.  As the river had become unavailable, we wandered over to play with her horses.  Because her parents were gone, we stayed naked.

            Running naked became our new obsession.  We had to be sneaky, hiding behind haystacks or sticking to the forests of Russian Olive trees surrounding her house.  We already had a game of creeping around her house trying not to be seen, but playing outside, and playing naked, took the game to a whole new level.

            Being naked is the freedom, and hiding is the thrill.  As eleven year olds, we managed to be inappropriate and yet still innocent.  It was those in between years of knowing better and still being children.  In some ways I still feel that way.  I know I should act more mature or care about adult things, but at times I want nothing more than to build a fort or dress as a superhero.  I’ve seen too many things and had enough situations I’ve had to handle like an adult to have the eyes or mind of a child. But, occasionally, for a few streaking moments, I allow myself to be naked.  Whether in the form of listening to my heart or exposing raw, pure emotion or feelings, I open a soul that has no age, in the true sense of freedom and innocence, without an ounce of inhibition.

            I don’t know how long it would have gone on, but our adventures with streaking ended with Uncle Scott spotting my naked bum climbing over a fence.  Our embarrassment was enough to keep our clothes on.  Skinny dipping and streaking are still healthy parts of sleepovers and girls’ nights for both Krissy and I as we’ve gone our separate ways.  Some see streaking and skinny dipping as crude, which definitely can be true when boys are involved, but when done in the spirit of having a good time, late nights become early mornings, stories are swapped, hearts are touched and friendships are solidified by trust and honesty.  Bonds become unbreakable because hey, I’ve seen that girl naked.  We open ourselves up as teenagers, act like children, and grow into adults who never stop breaking the mold or, building forts.