this swamp is right in front of my parents’ house. i looked at it multiple times a day, every single day i was home, from the summer before third grade until the summer after college. (that’s fourteen years, give or take. i subtracted a year for a semester abroad + a summer internship + a fall co-op assignment.)

last year, i noticed that the swamp has layers of green and gold in autumn. it’s so beautiful! all those years spent across from it. how did i miss this?

it makes me wonder what else i’m not noticing. because i suspect the essence of this is true of everything.