Bookends

I am getting ready to take a vacation with my son and my dad; we are going to Washington D.C. Both my dad and I have been before, but never together. My son has never been. For years my dad has talked about wanting to show his grandkids our Capital, but as I like to say life has gotten in the way. One of the things we wanted to do "before I leave" was take a trip together and we decided on DC and now it's time for us to go. We've been looking forward to it all summer.

It's funny how everyone, myself included, acts and talks like I'm going away forever to some far and distant land. I'm not sure why. So many things these days begin or end with "before I leave". Reality is that I lived farther away from my parents when I was in California and they were in Alabama than I will be in Toronto, and I'll be gone for the semesters and then back here to Texas in between, and it's only for three years. My son is at college, Texas A&M, and we've had a year to settle into him "being on his own" (as much as a college freshman can be considered on their own). Amid the difficulties we've faced in addition to him learning the ropes of college life, he has pressed on and stayed focused on school. I am so very proud of him. One of my fondest memories of this year was a phone conversation he and I had. He was having to make a tough decision and as he told me all of the pros and cons he had come up with I told him that I knew he would make the right decision. There was a long pause on the other end of the phone before he said something like "parents don't usually say that, they tell you what to do". Seems to me, about 25 years ago, I had similar conversations with my dad…

It is perhaps my most favorite thing to do to spend time with my dad and my son at the same time. It doesn't matter what we are doing or even if we are doing nothing, as long as we are in the same place. It makes me feel complete. They are my bookends, keeping me from falling over on the shelf.