The Wind

This is about the feeling of having the wind knocked out of you. I remember the first time it happened to me. I was seven years old and climbing a tree in the front yard of my Granny's house in Sacramento. It was dark outside, and I was alone. I remember trying to get to a branch higher up in the tree, a branch I hadn't dared to aspire to climb to before. I remember climbing higher and higher and then I reached, clawing at the branch, desperately trying to grasp it. I lost my balance and fell, onto my back on ground that was unforgiving and harsh.

I laid there, gasping for breath, thinking at the tender age of seven, that I was going to die. The wind had been knocked out of me. And yet, over twenty years later, it feels the same. Only I haven't fallen from a tree. It's amazing the affects that others have on you. 

Edited to add a quick note: In case anyone is wondering, TJ and I are fine, we're actually closer than ever.