I told the boys I was having a playdate with a friend from church.
I set out some activities for Zander so we would have bandwidth to talk.
She arrived and Zander choose watercolor art the table on a giant pad of paper. I grabbed water for him. She pulled up a chair next to him and we started talking while he painted a washed out rainbow across the page.
We're both in the middle season of life. She's slightly ahead of me and grappling with the changes that come with an empty nest. I'm still working on making sure my nest ends up empty someday. But life in all seasons comes with questions of purpose and big decisions that shape the journey ahead.
Zander painted a vibrant blue across the page. It was striking and both of us paused and looked at it.
"There's a freedom in painting at that age that we don't often get as adults. " She noted.
Simultaneously, we both grabbed brushes. I slid the paper over and we started painting like Zander. Wild colors in wild ways.
Our conversation continued. We were both very present in the painting, very present in the conversation and lost in our own thoughts all at the same time. It was a comfortable togetherness. A space to ponder and the painting confirmed it was a safe space to go off script and wrestle with life.
Zander grabbed neon markers and started filling in any white space.
Time passed too quickly. She had an appointment to get to. We didn't have any answers about life but we made art and shared a beautiful hour together.
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