A REALLY Busy Summer

Today at church people KEPT talking about
how long they had known so-and-so,
or how fulano had raised his children here
or what a "spiritual giant"* fulanita was.
It made me so sad.
People are never going to know us well, or say that.
We have no "depth of experience," as the air force calls it.

But you know what? We have BREADTH of experience!
We are ALL OVER THE PLACE!

This has been an amazing summer.
Michael taught himself to swim and tread water enough to pass the pool test and suppose he'll continue.
Jill's baby Emma Sofia (what a pretty name!) was born
We went to New York City to a broadway play (how cool is that!)
Also to Upstate New York and saw the pageant and the area around Palmyra
We went out on the Potomac river in a canoe (where the cat-tails are)

We are about to go on an epic and intrepid road trip and see
Amy in Upper Michigan,
then to Brian's graduation--a doctorate in physics--come on people! some congratulations are in order!
And then drive out and see Jill in Las Vegas and her trio of beautiful and very busy kids who I will adore even if they lick the salt shaker. So there.
(More bragging later.)

This trip will kill us financially, and tax our strength.
But we have learned that we have to hold on to our family with all our might.

I won't let our kids feel like we did, sort of forgotten.
I'm not sorry about moving them all over creation.
I regret the disconnect from our families who don't keep in touch,
But we did the best we could, And as they've heard me say
"a kid could do worse."

* I detest that adjective phrase "spiritual giant" Only God qualifies as a spiritual giant.