Siblings, a Slushie, and Hope

the children are in the kitchen.

their voices

like moving water

ebb and flow 

and lilt and sway

an occasional giggle

a shared laugh

an impersonation

scraps of song

knead through the collective conversation dough

and I can’t imagine a more delicious mix.

they problem solve.

they confer.

they wonder together,

while all the while sometimes

silly voices enter in to decorate the moments.

movie phrases and 

exaggerated voices skip in and out 

and come and go 

peppering it all,

fluid, fun.   

their familiarity and fellowship is so unforced, so simple, so real:

that being privy to their time together is

– a gift.

this silent observation

– a privilege.

to listen in on such a pure and natural camaraderie

spells delight unrivaled. 

for these children – these people –

in their thus far shared life

are as easy and as utterly themselves together as persons may be.

there is no pretense, no contrived persona.

there is only freedom.

there are only the raw and beautiful materials and good ingredients of lifelong relationship and shared and individual experiences to bring to the table.

there is play and there is together

there are siblings and there is delight therein:

and so… there is hope.