your face will be the reason I smile

title: pretty wings – artist: maxwell

Excerpts from the July 4th weekend, not in sequential order:

Sunday:

Some of you may remember Brad. On a previous trip to the pool, I saw him and his grandmother and heard the familiar "Hey guys!" only it was directed at the kids in the pool this time. On Sunday, while making my way home from the pool, Brad rolls up to me on his shiny new tricycle, saying "Hey! Look at my new bike! We just builded it!" So, we discuss his new bike for a bit, he shows me his bell and then he says,

"Where’s your kid?"

"Uh… I don’t have one of those."

"Where is HE?"

"I don’t have one."

"No. WHERE IS HE!?!"

"I don’t have one."

"Hey, want to go see my Nonny [I’m assuming he was referring to his grandmother] with me?"

"No, I have to get home. But maybe you should go see her. She might be wondering where you are."

"Okay. See you later!"

Saturday:

Saturday night, I headed into Corning to see the fireworks. I wound up on the pedestrian bridge that goes over the river (I have fallen in love with that pedestrian bridge lately). Nearby there was a dad holding his not-quite-two son. This kid was amazingly mellow. While other kids, some older, some younger, were crying or otherwise freaking out, he was just chill. Sometimes he’d be watching the fireworks, other times he was looking around at the people. It was amazing and lovely.

Eventually, there was this couple coming down the bridge with three or four little kids. The show had been going on awhile and I think they’d decided to head out early in hopes of beating the (minor) gridlock that was about to happen when the mass exodus occurred. The two little boys in the front were carrying their little collapsible camping chairs and were soon close enough for me to hear this exchange:

boy 1, looking around in delighted awe: I just love these big, beautiful buildings!
boy 2: I like skyscrapers.
boy 1: Yeah. I like skyscrapers, too!

As they’d just gotten past me, the finale began and I got to hear them both yell, "WHOA!"

I think it may have been my favorite moment so far this summer.