Happy 3rd Birthday Belle!

I checked the front door one last time. A city street sleeps or nearly so. Stepping out into the night the warm humid air enveloped me. A trumpet was being played. Softly. The lonely sound floated across the road from an unknown place of origin. I sat on the top granite step for a moment or two. Closing my eyes so as not to miss a note…

The quiet felt right as I settled into the night’s routine. Earlier in the day I had visited with my daughter and her family at their home. Greeted in their backyard by Emily holding her three-week-old baby, Jo. Belle running to meet me. Three years today. The urgency in her face to tell me, everything. My heart swelled…

Immediately a game was to be played. She counted it down after positioning herself. Across the yard and at the furthest limit she was ready. Looking at me while smiling. With every number her young body would sink down through bended knees. Popping up before the next count. One, two, three and four…. her little feet flew across the yard. My open and welcoming arms were her destination. We hugged and giggled. Numerous times…

The heat felt prohibitive, but I am not 3. The repetition delighted us all. Jo, slept in her mother’s arms. Feet stacked one on top of the other. Seeming blissfully unaware of a game being played, the unrelenting heat or the nuisance of bugs. My son-in-law had set up a tee for Belle’s initiation into baseball. A birthday gift with yet to be discovered possibilities…

Dinner was to be made and the yard picked up. All but Belle and I had entered their home. I remembered and embraced a feeling I once had that defined my childhood. Holding on to the fun. Refusing to give in to the setting sun. Staying outside to the very last second. We stole a few more rides around the yard. Belle riding her new bike with my assistance. More and more. Faster and faster. Her demands of me forgo any consideration of age. I am and hope to be a fully capable playmate…

“Childhood is about playing, discovering, and believing in dreams: the imagination and possibilities are endless.” — Unknown