To Dave

When I look at our three kids I often see glimpses of their cousins – Brooklyn in Sophie, Kylie and Ben in Lucy, and Gavin in John. But when I watch them, really watch them for any length of time, I see Dave and his “happy-go-lucky” attitude. Last night this was so very evident – there we were five hours into our roadtrip to Colorado and they were watching a movie. We made a sudden decision to detour on the Enchanted Highway and I told Sophie to pause the movie. They oohed and ahhed over the Geese in Flight sculpture right off I-94 but it was when we turned onto the two lane Enchanted Highway they really got excited – for there were curves and hills. All three of them, movie forgotten, arms raised and smiles galore giggled and laughed as we went up and down the hills. Dave and I, of course, joined in on the smiles.

The thing is, Dave had the whole drive planned – and the Enchanted Highway wasn’t part of it. We’d already left an hour later than planned and he was tired, but when I saw the sign I got all excited and asked just like a child, “Can we go? Can we go?” He gave a small sigh, turned off at the exit and said, “OK navigator, figure out how to get us to Highway 85.” And there we were – enjoying the wonderous metal sculptures set against a beautiful North Dakota prairie sky. Thanks Davey-baby – Happy Father’s Day!