Homeward Bound

Kathe and I got up early to hike across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn. It's been 22 years since we stood on this bridge together--we moved from Brooklyn to Savannah just before she turned 2. Two years in a row, I walked with my baby girl across the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan on Labor Day, the first time in a baby sling, the second in a backpack.

Today we strode, side by side, on the first day of spring under a bright blue sky. Motherhood was new to me on those other walks. Now, so many years later, its joys continue to blossom.

We shared coffee and a chocolate croissant after our walk. I snapped a photo of my earrings in the coffee shop.

Kathe was with me 10 years ago when I bought this pair at the Sawmill Center in Cook Forest, PA. I love their delicate balance and simple elegance. We went home, and together made similar earrings, hammering the tip of the wire to hold the beads in place, laughing at our struggle to twist each wire so that the two would match.

Today, over coffee, we admired them again. I don't think I realized 22 years ago how much joy I would find in sharing a cup of cafe au lait or a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.