he's gone

We celebrated Billy's graduation from UCSD on Saturday. Those four years went by so fast for us and they are full of experiences and learning and growing for B. Much of it only his to know. One of the most heartening windows into that time for us was in meeting his friends. Clearly, the affection, laughs, and hard work shared by them is what made it all worth while. Billy's friends stayed through the ceremony (in horrific heat) until the bitter end, when all 900 names had been announced. 80% of his class had exited by that point. They stayed for eachother. I am so grateful for the people at UCSD who provided a place to grow, but most especially grateful for his friends and their families. (pictured: Daniel, fellow ME major and fellow grad student, and Billy.) Blessings!

the best time

Father's Day 2008. Pete elected to spend his Father's Day at Pt. Reyes, a spot we can get to in a reasonable amount of time and enjoy. Our youngest son, John, went with us and because it was Father's Day he enjoyed himself, for Pete's sake, truly. We started with mass at the Priory, on our way stopped for food often and when we reached our destination, then hiked at Abbott's Lagoon out to the beach. So much to see! Rabbits, snakes, egrets, blue heron, ladybugs, wildflowers, tadpoles (lunch for the heron), ants, beetles, ... the best part was having John with us. He made it more an adventure, spying things we missed, like the snakes. At 15, the best time to love him is when he's NOT LOOKING. This picture captures (without his looking or knowing about it) our joy in sharing this place with him and sharing him with this place.