"Look, Maddie," I said to my 4-year-old granddaughter. "Bring me your flower and I'll show you something. She had found a vinca blossom beside the plant and had been floating it in their wading pool. I was watching them play outside while our son went to an engagement.
"He loves me, he loves me not," I said as I plucked each tiny petal from the flower. One after the other came off, as she watched, fascinated. Then, only one was left: "He loves me!" I exclaimed, as she giggled in surprise and delight.
They had loved donning their swim suits (well, Maddie said, "Look, Mimi! Swim shorts!") and filling the pool from the hose. After splashing and pouring water on the flowers and each other for awhile, they looked around for something else to do. 6-year-old Anne-Marie took her bike from the garage, and I spied some sidewalk chalk in a clear plastic box stored from their recent move.
"Do you want me to make you a hop-scotch?" I asked after she had made a few swooping loops on the bike.
"No, I can make it," she said confidently. Soon she had painstakingly constructed the game diagram, complete with a number on each square. Then she tossed a fallen leaf from a live-oak tree onto a square for a marker, but the wind blew it away.
"Here, take this pebble," I said, handing her a smooth, shiny stone from the driveway edge. She jumped expertly for several minutes, balancing to bend and pick up the stone when she came to it, while Maddie studied her intently. Then it was Maddie's turn, which started out endearingly awkward then became surprisingly skilled by the time she lost interest.
A green lizard came into the shadow of the porch where I was sitting, halting long enough for me to call the children. "Where? Where?" they cried until they spotted it scurrying into the shrubbery. Its brown colors turned greenish against a plant stem, and I said it must be a chameleon. "Yes, yes, it's a chameleon!" Anne-Marie concluded.
Their grandfather came out to watch them while I went inside to cool off, and before long they were in changing back into their play clothes and hunting a snack. Quieter activities followed with their ipad and electronic toys, then giving way to "making a craft for mommy" with crayons and art paper.
I love the gentle play of girls. They are a pleasure to watch as I feast my eyes on them, storing up memories of their dear little faces for when we will have to go home all too soon, and finding them changed, if ever so slightly, when we see them again.
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