Weren't we just.....

by

Patti Dickinson

July 4 found the parent-Dickinson's with an empty house. Never happens. Andrew was playing tennis with his buddies, and going to a city-held fireworks show, Mary Morgan was at a friend's farm with a group of kids and Meghan was at the Lake. So Wood and I did the traditional Saturday-night thing. A trip to Border's, followed by dinner out. All the kids would be home July 5, so we planned to do our traditional brisket dinner-potato-casserole-corn-on-the-cob-homemade-ice-cream meal that night. There were 10 of us, including a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a spouse and a grandson, Ben.

Ben is a delight. He is a chatterbox, a steady stream of observations falling from his mouth. I have a hard time picturing him quieting down to sleep. He loves Meghan....picks her out of a crowd and directs all his observations at her. First thing he wants to do when he gets to our house is "find the kitties". Two kitties who barely tolerate him. Cats have a sixth sense that recognizes erratic, unpredictable monsoons.

As Wood and I were getting all the food assembled for the informal buffet (translation: no fancy serving dishes) the rest of the family was outside in the backyard, taking in Ben's nonsense (and almost-three-year-olds have plenty of nonsense to spare). I turned to Wood and said, "Look outside. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were wiping noses, doing assembly-line-baths, buckling a houseful of kids into car seats? Wasn't it just yesterday that we spent all of May attending soccer pizza parties, Girl/Boy Scout picnics, strings concerts, field days, awards ceremonies and Kindergarten graduations? And now....now we have a big gang of teenagers and young adults who gather here, enjoying each other's company...who have a shared history, people who know more about each other than anyone else ever will. I just love this stage." Wood turned to me and responded as he always does....

"But Patti, you love every stage."