Argh! If I Was In The Area I Would Be There To Celebrate....But....

He's the one who loses, and I told him that. He knows that if I was in the area, I would have spent more, but instead I had to send a birthday card from Connecticut. "Yeah, I thought of that," he admits. "I told my mom I should have guilt tripped you into taking me out shopping for something I wanted."

Nephew. Licensed. Senior Year. Employed. Birthday. He's doing well.

And I'm feeling old. I was just speaking "dinosaur" with the kid and buying him his first journals. Now he's in his last year of high school.

Chitunga got him ice-cream, but did a major faux-pax. He forgot to invite mom (Mimi) and so she was without chocolate and peanut butter stains on the front of her shirt.

I Facetime, but I quickly get sad. I hate seeing family together with family when I'm a 4.5 hour drive away. I know, I know, it beats the 11 hours from Louisville, but still. It's not fun, especially as I had 2007-2011 to be in the Syracuse area to absorb the chaos and beauty of family. Now, it's from behind the screen because it is the way it needs to be.

Once again, Happy Birthday, Dylan. Thinking of you in Syracuse. The deal stands...you want to come to CT to look around at colleges, I can drive you around.

Best to you next week in your last year of high school...it flies by!

Aw, man. It's September already. I am now realizing the summer is over and although I loved every second of it, I didn't get enough down time to enjoy it.

It's all good.