REMEMBER

Chautauqua, 2014

It's 8:20 on Memorial Day morning, and both Beth and I have been up since 7:00. It looks like a sunny, warm day here in Dallas. Tyler left for Atlanta yesterday, so it's just the four of us now. We're not quite sure what the day holds — most likely some well-earned rest and mapping out a to-do list for the week ahead. Since I didn't take any photos yesterday, I went back and pulled a few favorites from the past to share.

My Parents 50th Anniversary

Yesterday we were all up early since Tyler's flight departed from Love Field, about half an hour from their house. Everyone was out of bed by 7:00, and Beth and Marisa drove him to the airport at 8:20. Evie and I were left behind in a quiet house until around 10:00 — Beth had made stops at the dog park and Trader Joe's on her way home. I had planned on taking the dogs for a walk, but since they'd already been to the park and the heat was already building, I decided to put the time to better use. Beth needed Rami's grill cleaned up so she could sell it, so I spent a good forty-five minutes scrubbing and spraying it down with degreaser, hoping to make it presentable. It wasn't a particularly demanding job, but the heat and humidity made sure I earned a good sweat anyway.

Istanbul, 1974

While I was outside, Beth and Evie got Tyler's bedroom set up and worked through a good deal of laundry. After a light lunch of leftovers, I took a brief nap and started a new book — This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman. None of us did much for the rest of the afternoon; it was simply too hot to venture outside, and it felt good to just settle in and let go of anything that needed doing. Tomorrow is the big day — the last day of Beth's school year, which she's planning to attend.

Ohio, Summer, 1975

We celebrated the end of the week with a little spread of good cheeses, crackers, and a classic Texas favorite — pimento cheese dip with corn chips. Dinner was the leftover schnitzel; I made a couple of sandwiches, mayo included of course, along with French fries. In the evening, we watched a few episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and a couple of 1923 before bed. And as has become something of a nightly ritual, I stayed up to catch the NBA game as well.

July, 2024

Dalmatian Coast, 1974