Writing with Juliet Iwelunmor

We have held giant lizards,

held tiny alligators,

touched snakes as yellow as the sun

and hummed to the sounds of cicadas.

Summer is only just beginning

And this summer in Saint Louis,

is the season of children,

of sitting in the shadows of children,

sitting in their joyful lane,

in a season where joy is full,

life is full,

of energy too.

All of them, their joy, their energy,

is washing us full,

cleansing us too,

as our heart,

and our souls,

across the bluest skies,

and the abundance of cicadas,

tell a story of how we begin,

this summer full

of cicadas, of children,

of the fullness of life.

Schools out and for this summer of cicadas my children and I are outside with my last son touching everything possible, including snakes and giant lizards. When you are outside with children, I am learning that it’s not just the matter of going outside, but being, seeing, and feeling every single thing they feel, see and do.

Everything is possible to a child. Everything can be used and is useful. A stick, a trash bag, whatever you feel is dirt is glorious and gentle in their hands. Enter also cicadas.

We spent yesterday, on the last day of a glorious school year listening to the sounds of cicadas, touching and feeling them because my last son was in love with them. Last week, we were outside in a reptile show for children and my son was the first to volunteer to touch every reptile he saw.

If you accept that a child sees the world differently, see the possibilities within, then the only thing left is renew your love for the world, time and time again, through the lens of children. So because of him, I have grown to become fascinated by all the things we see outside. Our eyes are open to the big red eyes of cicadas. Our energy is matching their as they buzz around our home. We are not weighted down by their sounds. It’s like music to our ears. We are also watching as they fly, stoping to stare at the golden color of their wings, and hoping that we too fly up to their skies one day, with golden wings and all. The kinds of stories we are making up as we go is as impressive as all the cicadas we see around us. The reptile we have seen so far. It’s why I wanted to share as we begin this summer of cicadas to keep seeing the world as children do. Their imagination is vivid and full of energy and optimism, just like cicadas and one that I hope to absorb and keep for myself all summer long in Saint Louis.