Arizona desert memories

I have just returned from the Arizona desert. Two weeks of dry heat, long walks, good fitness training and strenuous days with the grandchildren. I had forgotten how much energy one needs to follow the activities and attentions of two little boys. Amongst the many great moments we spent, I have two pictures that jump quickly to mind. Zeke, the 6 year old, is a sensitive little fellow with many interests. I had noticed on our last visit that he liked to colour and when I sat on the rare occasion to embroider, he would gravitate towards me and watch intently. He would then take up his crayons, choose the same colour pencil as the thread I was using and begin to draw. When I changed the colour of my thread, he changed his coloured pencil. I was embroidering violets, he drew a bright and joyful house. That was more than a year ago.

This time, he once again liked to watch me work. In fact, one morning I was reading and he asked my why I wasn't sewing and would I? I picked up my project, cross stitch, 'The pimpernel cushion' (I've written about the design already). This time, he was less focused on the colours and more on the technique and he asked me to show him how I did each stitch. He asked to do some stitches and to my joy, he successfully placed 4 small cross stitches in the right place actually on the 28 count linen I was working on. It took a while to do these few stitches, but I could see his determination and focus. It was a real pleasure to see him so disciplined.

The next day, we all went off to the swimming pool. After an hour or so, some of the family was ready to go back to the house for lunch. Zeke wanted to stay swimming for a while longer and I stayed back with him. We walked home together. On our walk, we made up names for the various cactii we saw in the desert surrounding us: tigers' tongues (real name: century plant), pancake (Prickly pear or Beaver Tail Cactus) and porcupine (Barrel cactus or Hedgehog) cactii. We took note of all the different green hues and the shapes of these strange plants. I really enjoyed the 20 minute walk and as he slipped his little hand in mine as we approached the house, I think Zeke had too.