Summer Nights

The sky looks like the canvas of an artists masterpiece. 

 

Red and pink hues streak the sky as the sun slips just below the horizon.

"Now??" he asks anxiously for the umpteenth time.

"No, not yet," I reply.  I know how excited he is.

The colors in the sky begin to fade and the shadows grow longer and longer.

And then you see one.

Then two.

Then more than you can count. 

Bursts of light begin to twinkle just out our door breaking apart the still, darkness that has engulfed the yard.

Fireflies!

I hear the door slide open and then shut.  

He doesn't even ask to go out.  

Bare feet race across the deck and down the stairs into the summer night air to fulfill the mission of the moment.

I peer through the window from the kitchen, trying to keep an eye on the busyness. 

"I GOT ONE," he exclaims excitedly. 

Proudly, and carefully he slips his new friend into a jar with holes punched on top of the lid.  Again he slips out the door to find another.  He thinks his new friend needs a friend.  

What joy simple little things like lightening bugs can bring to an ordinary summer evening.  It's just about the perfect kind of summer evening there is to be had.  Especially if there's a scoop of ice cream to go with it!