Of Twilight Magic...

"Nyna! Nyna! Nyna Nyna noon... Noon!!!... The sound of little hands smacking hard against glass well smeared from other smackings accompany his excited cries. "He wants you to see the moon" my sister informs me. I was already moving. I love this little angel boy with silky blonde hair and eyes that rival the brightest stars. I slide open the french doors and step out onto the deck. Sweeping him up I laugh at his muddy hands and his sheer joy over the presence of the 'noon'. A mix of egrets and black birds sweep across the darkening skies and for a few moments he is distracted from the moon and enchanted by the 'egds' as he says. "EEEgRetS" I emphasize, but to no avail. His two year old tongue cant reach around the word. We go back to moon gazing. I cover his eyes with my hand. "Where is the moon?" take my hand away "Peekaboo!!" he giggles hysterically, turns his face to mine, puts a hand on each of my cheeks and kisses me full on the mouth. He pats my face and lays his head against mine and all that is in me melts into a puddle. We watch the moon. His daddy sits and builds a rabbit hutch for a customer who bought a rabbit today. Occasionally he laughs at our conversation and his laughter and his work attract Angel Boy's attention and he starts bouncing in my arms exclaiming "Op op op op!!" and pointing first to what his daddy is doing and then out to the rabbit hutches in the yard. We MUST go see the 'ops'. But on the way we get distracted by the swings. So we swing. I hold his little body in my arms and we fly back and forth back and forth. My hair is falling down so I blow it out of my face. He promptly mimics the sound this makes and I burst out laughing and he laughs at me laughing and we laugh and laugh and laugh until we are drunk with laughing and don't know why we are laughing except that it is just so good to be together. Eventually I put him in his toddler swing and swing him high into the treetops. He loves this! His eyes glitter and sparkle and dance and in them I see the blue of a summer day sky and the ocean and a blue birds wing. He is so beautiful. My soul aches with the incredible beauty and perfection of this child. I want to capture every nuance of these moments. Want to hold them hard inside my heart and never lose their incredible beauty. His sister finally finishes her chores and comes to join us. "Aunt Dayna can you push me?" I want to give her an underduck but the incredible amount of mud stops me. So I push her and her little arms and legs pump hard and she flies hi and my heart twists with a moment of fear for her falling. She does not fall though. She can pump. I stand and watch this in awe. When did she get so big? Was it not only five minutes ago that she was the toddler in the swing? I go back to pushing Angel Boy. Back and forth back and forth they both fly. Big Sister and I talk and laugh and Angel Boy roars at me and I roar back. The world is perfect. For those few moments I forget finals, moving, leaving, and it is only them and me in this bubble of space. Big Sister wants me to sing. So I sing. Jesus Loves Me, The Tree Song... We get stuck there and I have to sing it over and over. The sky darkens to nearly black and still we swing and laugh and sing. In her pumping Big Sister's boots fly off one at a time and we laugh and laugh and are so delighted by their seeming jet propulsion. Finally our hungry tummies get the best of us and we head inside to eat our supper. Two pairs of muddy bare feet. One pair of tiny black rubber boots. I am reminded of what is important in life. Grades matter, friends matter, money matters. But these two, and the other twenty who are not hear in this moment but who share equal parts of my heart... THEY are what really counts in my life. May my footsteps always be slow enough that I have time to enjoy and know each of them as I walk through life! May my footsteps always be ones that they can follow safely.