The Radio

As soon as our kids were old enough to ride in the front seat of the car, they began wrestling for control of the radio. Since then I have been listening to the latest hip-hop hits on the way to and from school, swim meets, water polo, soccer, and basketball games. Whoever is in the passenger seat reaches instinctively for his or her preset buttons of choice, and then turns the volume as loud as I will tolerate it. Just as instinctively, I hit the volume down button on the steering wheel. And so it goes.

This morning, while our older daughter was in another room, my husband told me in a whisper that he had changed all the preset buttons in his car to his favorite station, which plays only classic soul. On a day with grim news filling the newspaper spread out on the table beside our breakfast, this was a welcome moment of lightness.

a hint of a smile
in the way she rolls her eyes—
midwinter morning