Rights of Passage

I was a bit moody and reflective all day, not atypical for me when I am coming off of a big family weekend up north and being confronted by the reality of another week of work. Yet, perhaps today I was in an even bigger funk knowing that Isabella would be away from us for the next two weeks.

I thought of her often today and tried to imagine how she was filling her day at summer camp. And, I must admit that I wondered if she misses me as much as much as I miss her. I came to the conclusion that the excitement of new friends and new explorations likely gave her little time to think of home and that thought comforted me. I do not want her to be home sick. Compare and contrast that to my day with nothing but the drone of endless conference calls and the glare of computer screens that said the world economy is still not well. These things caused my mind to drift often and it constantly meandered back to thoughts of Isabella at camp and Gabriella at home, each without the other. I had to remind myself that life is all about passages and crossing new waters and I applaud Isabella's decision to be shot off from us for a few weeks so that she may continue to discover her life without the crutch of her parents or the comfort of her best friend and little sister. But, I also fully realize that what I am tussling with internally is not just two weeks of camp, but the reality that these years are going far too fast for my comfort. Perhaps this camp is not just for her growth and progression but for that of my parenthood as well.

This is the Third Avenue Bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. I have always fancied this bridge for its arches remotely remind me of those in the Ponte Vecchio Bridge which spans the Arno River in Florence. It is not uncommon to see the arches of the Ponte Vecchio reflected in the often present stillness of the Arno but, rarely, are the Mississippi locks and dams set in a way that the water is this still on this part of the our downtown river. Today, on my way to a brief meeting on the north side of town, I happened to catch the Mississippi still for once. The design features of the bridge are seen better in big.

I had little chance to view or comment or thank you for your kind comments on the picture of my daughters yesterday but I hope to have more free time tomorrow. In the interim, thank you from the bottom of my heart.