who's that boy?

I received many emails from my last post asking me who the cute little boy is. I am proud to say that's my nephew Ben, my brother's son...the first grandchild for my mom and dad...and today he is two.



And, oh!, how our lives changed when he arrived. To see the world, new and fresh, through the eyes of a child...there is nothing quite like it. To see my brother become a father...it is still quick to bring lump to my throat when I watch them together. To see how this little boy's face lights up when his mother, my sister-in-law, walks into the room...it is a love that is palpable.



The joy he brings to our weekends together at the cottage is tinged with recollections of our own childhoods. My brother, sister and I have fond memories of another time, another cottage and another summer spent outside...running with the wind, dancing with sun....exploring trails, lakes and forests with a great dog named Jed, that belonged to my Aunt.


I can feel my brother wishing for those kind of memories for Ben...for his son. That he hopes Ben will look back, thirty years from now, and have a snapshot in his mind of his own summers at the cottage when he was little boy....and how his Aunt had a great dog named Sophie who was his faithful companion on all of his sunshine and wind adventures.



Happy Birthday, Ben.