Laughter.
That's what I will remember from this weekend. Ruby and Sadie are old enough to take care of themselves and therefore haven't been staying with us on weekends as they have done for many years. This weekend, cause we were really missing them, they came to stay.
They bring with them, even in the dark times of the pandemic, something bright and brash and bold. From the moment they enter our home, it's like a piccolo played by an elephant, with noises both surprising and chaotic. They are, after all, still young. We, on the other hand, are old. Or 'near death' as they would have it.
Sunday we settled down for a good old games afternoon. We played crokinole in teams. Ruby and I took on Sadie and Joe. We are all, by nature, competitive, so a games day is something less than a blood bath but something more than a blood feud. We were nearing the middle of the game when Sadie had declared that she had scientifically scoped out the board, demanded that we all take our arms off the table and that we be completely quiet. We looked at her as her brow formed in concentration. Then. She took her shot.
Somehow she hit the playing piece in a manner that threw it simultaneously up into the air and back into her face, hitting her in the forehead.
An explosion went off.
Everyone laughed with abandon. Joe was leaned by in his chair crying he was laughing so hard. Ruby was bent over and Sadie had collapsed on the ottoman and I was sat upright laughing as loud as I have ever laughed.
To me suddenly they were 'the girls' again. Their laughter had freed them from the burdens that being a 'young woman' puts on them. The little girls we loved were in our home again.
About an hour later I noticed Ruby walking down the hallway towards her room and she, once again, was a beautiful young woman, her height and her carriage signifying her status as an 'almost grown-up woman,' glancing at Sadie and she too was back in her body a tall and graceful girl. We love them too. We love watching them grow and become powerful women.
But oh my, it was nice visiting with 'the girls' again.
I loved glimpsing the past and present, both wonderful. Ruby and Sadie "now" sound awesome!
ReplyDeleteOh I love this! You've captured such a familiar feeling. As my daughter, and nieces and nephews, grow I miss their little selves while simultaneously loving their new ages and stages. And it is such a delight when their past selves breakthrough for a moment and we get to travel back in time.
ReplyDeleteThis post was such a joy. Thank you for sharing this lovely moment with us. The love in your home is so evident in your writing.