Outside My Window

When I look out my back window, I see a backyard that I always describe as the size of a postage stamp.  Right now, it is stuck between seasons…the grass is short and brown, but on the side a few yellow buds are trying to pop through the ground.  A few kid shovels are randomly strewn where Matthew has left them.  The sandbox’s lid has moved from being fully on to a little off kilter to totally off, leaving the sand underneath a layer of water (a combination of rain and melted snow). This mysteriously happens every year. Right below the window are the soggy, brown leaves that did not adhere to the city’s leave pickup schedule. 

But when I close my eyes I can see more.

The tiny green and tan playset from First Step where you climb up one side and slide down the other and it has a little fort in the middle.  Four year old Abby and Lauren who lives right next door would climb to the very top and yell at the top of their lungs, “Ta Da” in complete unison.

The little blue plastic pool with textured bubbles on the bottom.  An invention that could keep Matthew in one place for hours…there’s not many things that can stake that claim (even playdough and his favorite blocks might expire before an hour is up). 

The artistic display of sidewalk art.  Abby could draw better pictures with sidewalk chalk than I could with pen and paper.  One of my favorite drawings was done right around Mother’s Day and it was a mother unicorn with two baby unicorns nursing. 

The pile of leaves with a black haired head popping out.  Leaves have always been special to Matthew (at any given moment – even winter) there will be remnants of a beloved leaf in our house.  You gotta love how when they are dry they crack into a million pieces.  Put hundreds of leaves together and now you have Leaf Heaven.

The brown and tan blanket with a lion face on it.  Soft, but somewhat ugly…the perfect blanket for taking outside and laying on the grass to have a tea party.  Abby and her two neighbor friends Ana and Lauren would take out tea (aka lemonade) and cookies (aka crackers) and giggle and tell stories. 

The snow castles made with giant buckets.  The delicate balance that Matthew would try to achieve of tipping the bucket over and getting a “perfect” castle without losing too much snow at the first tip. 

The giant mesh golf web that was converted into lacrosse goalposts so that Abby could practice scoring goals.  All that practice has led to her feeling proud to be on the first girls' lacrosse team at her high school.

The extremely ugly swing set that my Dad found at a rummage sale and repainted and installed in our backyard.  I remember the day my dad was putting it up and the excitement on Matthew’s face.  Swinging is another favorite activity!  The memory of his autism therapist teaching him his first sign of “more” so that he could ask for “more” pushes on the swing. 

When I open my eyes, I see a sight that makes my heart melt.  From out of the garage, comes Abby pulling a “too big” Matthew in his favorite, red wagon.  She is the only one who will still pull him in it!

Although my backyard might be the size of a postage stamp, the memories that have been made there are immeasurable.