JOURNAL: May 21, 2006

I had a wonderful day yesterday visiting with my two oldest sons and their families. I drove up to Brooklyn, CT, in the morning to help Jaimie with some yard work, and he and little Noah (2 ½ ) and I had a wonderful time in the sunshiny and windy air. A load of sand for his patio-in-the-making had been dumped on the driveway, and the three of us, in just a couple of hours, made a serious “dent” in the pile. Noah and I shoveled and Jaimie carted the heavy wheelbarrow back and forth to the patio site. Often I would say “atta boy” to Noah, and he loved repeating it back to me: “Atta boy, Hammy,” he would say, “atta boy.” Around noon, I continued up the interstate to visit with Luke, Krissy, and young Kaylee. Krissy looked chipper and spirited, despite carrying a child who is due to be born any minute now. We had a wonderful visit together, enjoying good companionship and the comfort of their tastefully decorated and welcoming home. Luke and Kaylee and I took a relaxed stroll around the neighborhood, and I was so impressed by the tidiness of the yards and houses. These are obviously people who take pride in their homes, as Luke and Krissy do in theirs. I told Luke, as I’ve told him before, that they are fortunate to be raising their family in such a first-rate neighborhood. Later, Luke and I had a fine conversation in their lovely living room, just roaming casually across many important topics.