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Go Fly A Kite!
By Julia Rosien
When the wind finally tired of our games and left us, we lay our weary bodies down on the grass. We looked up into the sky, saying nothing for quite a while. Suddenly Simon, my 4-year-old, piped up.
"I see an elephant. What do you see Mommy?"
"I see a ship," blurted Alexander.
Within seconds, we tried to name everything we saw in the sky. Even my 3-year-old, Grace, knew how to play the game, and she saw her La-La doll in every second cloud. Neighbors who had watched us fly our kites went back into their homes to wash dishes, watch television or do the laundry. We stayed there on that empty field for another hour, just our little family.
When we finally returned home, no one argued or fought to get in the door first. Instead, they whispered and giggled in the back yard while I fetched bedtime snacks. None of us wanted this night to end. We sat outside on the porch step in the fading twilight talking about everything and nothing, wiping greasy fingers on already dirty shorts. Baths would have to wait another five minutes.
An impossibly beautiful purple-pink in the sky reflected in the heart of my morning glories climbing trellises beside our door. I couldn't hear the whispering of my dishes any more. And if I could have heard it, I wouldn't have cared. I hope I never grow too old to enjoy something as simple, and as profound, as flying a kite on windy evening