i wish you could have spent this day with me

let me paint you a picture. the rains have subsided, the grass and wildflowers are in full force, and the deciduous trees now provide that playful shade of summer evenings. everyone is outside, barbecues full of fire, cyclists coursing through forest roads. this was the nature of the world when i left work today.

i arrived home with the full expectation that emma would be watching "enchanted" for the 17th time. instead, she was looking for sticks outside . . . or wands. i was caught in the moment. i sat down on the stoop of our apartment complex, still in shirt and tie, and watched as emma explored the length of her reach, tiptoeing and extending her fingers into the leaves of the lowest-hanging tree.

emma belongs outdoors. she is an elfin child: red untamed hair, almond eyes and lighly freckled cheeks. shoeless.

after tickling the tree, emma climbed the hillside, pausing briefly to poke a rock with a stick. it was pure magic, and i couldn't sit back any longer. i dashed inside our apartment and searched the closet for my "play" clothes. as i scoured the floor for my flip flops, i was suddenly 25 years younger. there was no wrong in the world, just that scene outside. i half expected to see my mom in the kitchen. "sorry sweetie, you'll have to play after dinner." sorry mom, no time for dinner, emma just found a bug, or a pine cone, or a limb to swing from. in a matter of seconds i shed my corporate uniform, and bounded down the stairs towards emma who, by then, had discovered a completely new and fascinating stick.

later on, we found a castle, a dragon, and a kingdom who was presided over by the kind and intrepid, princess emma.