Emi and Noah came over for the 4th of July festivities (such as they were) and we had a lovely little cook-out with Mom before the twins and I went out for ice cream and a walk at The Crossings. They’re getting older now, and I feel them shift slightly to their phones, shortening their attention span which was never all that substantial in the first place. The changes from generation to generation ring differently when you’re on this side of the divide.
When walking The Crossings we were able to enjoy a moment of touching the grass as it were, even if they complained that they didn’t want to walk. Noah was the one who discovered this lone daylily in bloom, and I explained how each bloom only lasted but a day. He said that was sad, but I showed him the other buds that were waiting to take over when this one had spent its day – and I said that if the daylily only knew of one perfect day, and had no idea of how long other flowers lived, why shouldn’t it be the happiest flower alive for that single day?
Back in the attic, we shared a ‘Circle of Trust’ moment where we talked of things that shall only remain within that sacred circle. One fun and slightly insane thing I can share is that we realized, at Emi’s keen observation, that I had never worn the same outfit twice whenever I’ve hung out with them. Since I see them maybe once a month – and often for the big life events like birthdays and holidays and graduations – it was entirely plausible that they’ve never seen me in the same thing twice. Respect.
More moving was Emi’s unprompted explanation that she always appreciated that she could come visit us no matter what craziness or drama was unfolding in her life, and that our home was a place of calm and relaxation, where she could simply be. Emi’s always taken after me when it comes to astute observations – and being blunt no matter how much it may sometimes hurt. On this day, there was no pain, only love and gratitude.
