On the front step

Colleges start a couple weeks before the public schools in this area, which means that even though I’m back at work, the little neighbor kids aren’t yet back in school. Since the weather is still warm, I leave toys on the front porch so that they can play outside when I’m at work. Even when they are unsupervised, my front steps are a pretty safe place for them to play. At least, it’s safer than their other options.

Today I came home from campus to find lego blocks scattered all over the steps. When I looked closely, I could see that it was a village of sorts, complete with a swimming pool and diving board. (Ponytail’s lego houses always include swimming pools.) Other days, I find crayon drawings, or trails in the dirt from trucks that have been driven on the same path over and over again. Sometimes the kids are still there when I come home, and they jump up and down and yell my name when I arrive, greeting me as if I had been gone for months instead of hours. I’m thankful for the sunny weather that gives the kids a chance to play outside by themselves, hidden from the world by the river birches on my front lawn.

Yes, that's Ponytail in the photo. She's really grown over the summer.