Home altar

Within 15 minutes the four of us are out the door, Kenji walks to his bike and the boys and I head for the cargo bike. Big Brother and Little Brother take their seats and off we go! Kenji leads and keeps turning his head to see if we are following.

I give him the smile of my life and get one in return.

In the spur of the moment we decide to cycle to the botanical garden. We take a walk. The boys collect gravel and rocks. Kenji and I kiss under the trees. Mental pictures that might sound trivial but indeed are huge.
Big Brother finds 'the' rock - as he does on any outing. Like all boys his age he is fascinated, or better: hypnotized, by rocks. My gut tells me to let him take it home, as a tangible reminder of this day.

Back home, Big Brother and I discuss the best place for the rock. Carpark? Kitchen table? Buddha! With a ceremonial bow I put his rock in front of a small soapstone Buddha statue. Big Brother pauses, observes and is cleary honored to have it there. So am I.

A rock is never just a rock.