Summer days

After running errands for my mom and myself, I came over to my Aunt Lavonia’s house. I made the kids lunch, then took them outside in the backyard to swim while my aunts and friends had a yard sale in the front.

Jory swam while the girls splashed. Then when he was over that he remembered his aunt turning an exercise mat into a float for the pool so he dragged it in. He got on it and floated around, while the girls showed me the neat tricks they could do in the water, which was pretty much them lowering themselves into the water about two inches and then pretending to jump up and as they slowly rose out of the water.

As they played, I did something I hadn’t done in forever- - read. I read a book. I read a book! Do you know how amazing that it is? What is the one thing I missed most that I lost when I became a mother? Yep, reading. I loved reading. I loved that my babies are old enough to play in the water while I read.

With one eye on them and one in my book, Rowan grabbed my attention.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“I’m scared to go lower,” she said.

“Rowan, you’re a big girl. It’ll be fine. You’re tall enough to step down to the third stair and you can walk along the long stair and hold onto the side of the pool while you walk, if you get scared.”

She seemed to like my answer and took that first step. I was proud of her and didn’t have to watch her too closely because I knew exactly where the step was because it was the same step I played on when I was a kid.

We had come full circle, decades ago I played in the same pool. I even had my first “birthday” pool party in that pool with all my friends from Redeemer. I had to pat myself on the back for always wanting to rear my kids not just in the greatest city in the world, the city of angels, but rearing them with family, near family, and in the same places I grew up in.

TTT enjoyed the summer weather in the pool, I read poolside- - Winning!