I’d be a broken record if I said it was difficult to get a picture of the five of us together this year, so I won’t. What I will say is, as happy as we are for our children, seeing them do what they love, it’s crushing to have them doing it away from us. Only one adolescent is home and under our reign, sort of. We can still force him to go on vacation, as long as we schedule it around football camp.
Emma missed vacation this year for the first time, ever. We were sad but she wasn’t. She traveled blissfully back and forth to the City at crazy hours as a regular extra on an upcoming mini-series. Call us for the name, I’m not sure I can put it in print yet. Lauren could be wherever there was Wi-Fi. Organic Chemistry was her summer focus and it was torturous for all of us. Not that we helped, but we absorbed the agony she felt.
We’ve watched them flourish, stumble, get back up and hopefully be stronger for it. I know these things happened to us when we were younger, but somehow it feels harder to watch than experience. Especially when our job is to do nothing at all. Which, of course, is insufferable. So, we dove into our projects. I wrote and Rip turned.
A stock pile of wooden bowls has amassed next to the basement freezer, (full of moose meat) and I’m just about finished with the first draft of my novel. There’s a lot of trial and error for both of us. As parents we’ve mastered the art of figuring it out as we go. We’ll never be perfectionists, in any category, but our goal is to keep moving. Hopefully forward.
In December we’ll be a full house again. I seriously think about taking pictures then for next year’s holiday card, just as reserve. The decorations will be in the background. What could be more festive? Of course, it’s not about the card or the photo, (even though I’ve swooned over several already this season). It’s about family, good health and being together. Putting the outside world on hold for a day or two and having the opportunity to share a smile, even when no one is taking a picture.
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