Unfunny

A sweet little child named Bunny,
Had an outlook on life that was sunny.
She could sing in the rain,
She could laugh through great pain,
But to mock her odd name was unfunny.

What a day. A beautiful morning between me and my littlest men. I often reject their pleas to come outside and play, but today the weather was beckoning even more than they were and I encouraged a game of football in the front yard. That didn’t last long in itself, as they neither one have the slightest idea how to play. One will pass as far away from the other as possible so that he can retrieve it himself and the other will simply run inside the garage and grab a second ball.

I told them I wanted to take their picture but when I ran back outside with the camera they were in the backyard instead of the front, both of them eyeing the intimidating slope with desire and caution. Clutching their footballs, I watched them step forward and then stop. They looked at me and we all went together. With each of them holding my hands, we hiked down while the camera dangled from its strap around my neck and bounced against my chest unmercifully. It was all worth it.

As they grew more brave, their steps grew further from mine and their voices mingled with the sound of the wind in the leaves.

The wind…was divine. I know you can’t see wind, but surely I can clothe it in leaves, know its shape and call it beautiful. The wind can dress itself to dance and sing in the midst of Autumn, and I love to step in its way and feel its laughter as it rushes around me.

Soon the boys had found their own security and began to enjoy the wild beauty of the wooded canopy we had come into. Ivan equipped himself with a stick…20 feet tall he told me…and flew its flag, slashed at unseen enemies and brandished his weapon at anything that got too close. Aron found a new ability to discover. Here is a world unmatched by any play room or toy store in it’s variety of color, trinkets and even live entertainment. The snail, the ladybugs, the birds and more, were constantly moving his attention from one side of the dry creek to the other.

Suddenly Ivan looked for the house and couldn’t see it, this brought back some of his insecurity. “Mommy, we’re far away from the house…let’s go home”

In reality we were still in our own yard, just behind enough foliage that the house was hidden from his perspective. I could still see it, but encouraged them to find their way back up the hill. I was ready for lunch. They climbed like champs, neither needing my help until the last steep 10 feet or so up, Aron asked for my hand. They played just a little longer and then it was inside for a plate full of bite sized goodies. We had apples, grapes, cheese cubes and crackers to fill us up and satisfy the parts of us that aren’t contented by fresh air and glorious color.

They are napping now. Both of them are quiet and still.

The days of boyhood are so like fall…they show you color and move with wild abandon to get attention and prove their strength. The whole time they are littering the ground with their shouts and calls of “mommy, watch this!” and “I can do it, mommy!” Over and over their requests flutter through the air, it can seem like a whirlwind of noise and chaos, but finally they cease and the weariness gives way to slumber and slumber gives way to dreams of greater conquests and sweeter victories. Winter comes to fall, as sleep comes to boys…snow covers the mess of leaves and broken twigs just as quilts cover the scratches, smudges and flushed cheeks of little warriors. I love to see them resting. It is a quiet I dare not disturb, but long to be a part of. Were I able to sleep comfortably beside them I would do it, but you can’t walk through snow without messing up its purity.

I hope they enjoyed this morning as much as I did.