Blessed Be Water

Let us bless the humility of water,
Always willing to take the shape
Of whatever otherness holds it.

Water: vehicle and idiom
Of all the inner voyaging
That keeps us alive.

Blessed be water,
Our first mother.

- John O'Donohue (To Bless the Space Between Us)

S had his first water balloon fight, instigated by his mama. We hid behind a bush and waited for our neighbor's son to return from practice and I lobbed one over the shrubs and hit his leg.

It wasn't long before a water war broke out and at one point there were 6 kids. When we ran out of ammo, we resorted to buckets and hoses and the water blaster we bought S at the dollar store.









The kids were SOAKED!

We grilled some corn and tofu for dinner and while we were eating, I told S about the time the NYPD knocked on the door of my flat on Sullivan St. because of the water balloon fight I had started on the rooftop. I still remember the way the officer's face contorted as he struggled not to laugh.

In the morning a begoggled imp in mismatched pajamas appeared in the kitchen ready for battle. A treaty was passed...for the moment.

Later that day, my neighbor stopped me on the way to my door and said, "the kids had so much fun yesterday". I opened my shopping bag to reveal FIVE more water blasters and an arsenal of water balloons. Smiles were exchanged.

More mischief in the making.


Happy Cinco de Mayo!