It was late afternoon, after David worked a morning shift and Nathaniel wandered around an antique mall with me on his day off. John was watching live cams of a tourist railroad in New Mexico, and we were sitting in the office chatting. David flopped on the floor, laying his head on my feet. Not to be outdone, Nathaniel stretched himself under the desk to lay his head on Grandpa’s lap. There was a great deal of merriment and teasing about our pretended exhaustion. Though the photo isn’t particularly good, it caught the lighthearted moment.

In May and June, the summer stretched ahead of us, and suddenly we are trying to cram in everything before it’s time to pack them off to college. We wouldn’t hold them back for anything, as they need to get on with their lives, but how tightly we are holding onto the memories!