The mail seems to be coming later, and with the girls lunch and nap needs, by the time we get out the door to check the box again, it is dark. The sun is setting here around 4 p.m.
So the other day, with Ted away, we decided to go out in the dark all of us, and get the mail. We bundled up in coats and hats. Then I gave Abigail and Michaela each a flashlight. I think this was one of the first times either girl had had a flashlight to enjoy outside in the dark.
Our little expedition was only a hundred yards or so, across the street and down the hill to the box, but to the girls it was a wonderful adventure! I didn’t have to give them any instructions. They had fun exploring, doing whatever experiments came to mind. They illuminated everything from the concrete to their tonsils. “Look at this!” one girl would cry to the other, shining the beam onto a patch of night. “Look at this!” They were amazed. Little scientists making little discoveries in the dark.
I hope I’ll always remember that happiness. The simple joy of giving little girls a flashlight on an autumn afternoon. Watching them explore nightfall for the first time, seeing how far their little beams of light could shine through the darkness.
