This week I celebrated my 65th birthday with my family on Tuesday in New Orleans. I have been babysitting my youngest grandchildren, June (3.5 years) and Sam (13 months) while my daughter and son-in-law work. The kids are adorable and exhausting, entertaining and a physical work-out, especially Sam who is climbing and into everything.
My favorite moments include nightly story time. June squeezes in next to me on the glider. Sam loves holding the book and babbling like he is reading along.
Yesterday while June napped, I took Sammy out in the stroller. He is happy being outside, even in mid-90 temperatures.
Notes on a Walk along Paris Avenue, New Orleans.
As the stroller passes, a squirrel leaps
to the next oak, blue reflections in its tail
as if the sky was caught there, unaware.
The baby hums along with the breeze,
a song dancing in his head.
Echoes from the neighborhood school garden:
”Clap, Clap, Clap! Listen!”
A Little Free Library opens
at the hummingbird house.
Bright pink Crepe Myrtle blossoms
canopy overhead, the only flower that blooms
in this heat.
My heart rate matches time with sidewalk bumps. Baby babbling softens as he sleeps.
Margaret Simon, draft
Reflections on the Teche 