If only the camera weren’t on the fritz

Yesterday, S came in from his last day of school and announced, “Finally! It’s summer! I finally get some peace and quiet to myself!” After a little time up in his room listening to music and who knows what else he was up to, he came back down and was ready to join the rest of us.

If only the camera weren’t on the fritz, I would have some really great shots of S, C, and the dog, Lucy playing together in the backyard. The photos would be full of color even though the past two days were relatively overcast. Blue jeans, red shirt, yellow shirt, green grass, black dog, long legs, cutoff shorts, bare feet, big smiles, white ball, graying brown fence.

Then I realized this was the perfect moment to just sit back in the beach chair, grass between my toes, and enjoy my son and daughter playing together with the dog. I so rarely do that. Sit back, not interfere, let S interact with someone else without directing him how to interact.

Then S plunked C on the trampoline. And then S got on the trampoline himself and started to bounce. And then I watched C’s head ping forward and back in a toddler whiplash, and I couldn’t say be careful enough. She really didn’t care, the harder he bounced her the more she laughed. So I kept reining it in, and S kept listening really well and playing with his sister and making her laugh.

Then S wanted to swing, and C toddled over to swing with him. We put her in the baby swing, buckled her in. S got in the swing to the left, I got in the swing to right, and all three of us reached for the sky. Lucy climbed up the steps to the landing of the playset, covered in wisteria, and kept watch over the fence while we swung, pink tongue panting as she panned her view across the neighborhood. C started to suck her fingers and look ready for a nap. Back inside, she fell asleep easily after a great playful afternoon with the breeze blowing her curls around.

What a beautiful day.