Yesterday...

Yesterday was a good day -

A day that began with a trip to the costume store
where my 4 year old daughter, Audra,
tried on an assortment of princess gowns
until she had perfected the right ensemble for Halloween.
As we were leaving the store, she said -

"I wish I was a grown-up!"
"Why," I, chuckled.
"So I could be a costume seller."

A day that continued with a prolonged session of
walking, running, and jumping in the park on a windy autumn afternoon -
chasing ducks, and riding the outdoor carousel one last time,
which actually, turned out to be 4 last times.

"Bye horsey," Audra said, with a touch of joyful melancholy -
"See you in the spring."

Later, in a moment of quiet as we both leaned over a wall
to watch the ducks disappear and reappear from under the bridge -

"Look at that big leaf, daddy!
That's a pancake for the ducks because they are hungry."

A day that continued with bedtime on the couch
as we prepared for game 4 of the World Series -
Audra wearing her red Red Sox shirt,
me wearing mine...

"Look daddy, I'm the Red Sox,"
she said pointing to the logo of the red socks on the front of her shirt.
"And you are the 'B's! We're two baseball teams..."

Soon Audra was asleep,
absorbing the sounds and textures of late-night baseball
into her dreams ...

...so good...