It’s awesome having a full house again.
Even for a few days.
Daughter, grandchildren round the table.
Laughing, conversing, eating.
Watching them change, mature.
Beginning to care for themselves, each other.
Relishing simple pleasures.
Cooking, baking, reading.
Even walking.
Liora, fourteen, counting steps.
Knowing physical health, precious.
Elias, ten, willing to join.
Seeking animals, adventures.
All of us together, a safari on foot.
Traipsing in formation through parking lots, neighborhoods.
In mild December weather.
As I hold these images.
Knowing I will never fully follow their trajectory.
See their adult selves.
For they are at the starting gate.
I, near the finish.
I press them close while yet I can.
No crystal ball exists.
May they be fit and hearty.
Traversing all life’s twists.
Lynn Benjamin
December 28, 2023
