Freeze Frame

Every now and then, J.P. and I have one of moments or, if I'm lucky, one of those afternoons or evenings I wish I could freeze in time and remember forever.

Yesterday, I returned home from a Nashville Predators' matinee (they blew a 3-0 lead and lost in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings) to find Jude and J.P. working in the flower garden in our front yard on a beautiful, sunlit Saturday afternoon.  To give Jude a bit of a break, I grabbed the stroller and J.P. and I left to go for a walk.  We stopped by Bongo Java, then walked over to the soccer field at Belmont University as the late afternoon shadows lengthened.

Sadly, the soccer field at Belmont is not what it once was, as the ongoing, foolhardy construction of the new law school has taken about one-fourth of the field.  Nevertheless, we saw a couple of students kicking soccer a soccer ball into the goal.  As J.P. kicked his mini soccer ball, one of the students walked over and introduced himself as "Azad."  We learned Azad emigrated to Nashville 11 years ago from Northern Iraq, later graduating fromGlencliff High School.  Presently, he's a junior at Belmont, majoring in pre-med.

As I chatted with Azad, J.P. ran happily ran around the soccer field.  Each time he kicked his soccer ball into a small soccer goal, J.P. would turn and run in a large circle, celebrating his goal.  Azad was very friendly and after a few minutes, he leaned over J.P. and showed him how to properly kick the soccer ball.  J.P. was talking a mile a minute, asking questions, shouting "Goal!" and generally enjoying himself.

As I watched J.P., I looked around and took a mental snapshot of my surroundings - the late afternoon sliding into evening, the deep blue sky darkening ever so slightly, the hum of activity on campus as students walked and talked or got into their cars to hurry off to dinner of a night out.  I was so content and it was such a peaceful, perfect evening.  I wanted to file it away in my mind, so I could recall it later, years later, even, when things might not be so peaceful and perfect.

We said goodbye to Azad, then began our walk home.  The firemen at Station 8 were sitting our in front of the firehouse, so we stopped to say hello.  A few minutes later, we were home, just in time for dinner.