It’s Midsummer today, the longest day of the year. My Mom would always say that was the last day before winter started. 😉 Same thing with December 21st but then in reference to summer.

For some reason, the 21st of June also seems to be a milestone moment. I find that I have been calculating how many days of long daylight were left over the past week. Over the past week especially, I’ve been sleeping only when it was actually dark which has been progressively less each day. Strangely enough, it hasn’t made me tired. Which makes me wonder what light really does with our internal clocks. For the pets, it doesn’t seem to make a difference – they sleep when and where the want to. Although George is a big fan of a breakfast that is earlier and earlier each day. 😉

Yesterday we had to go to Groningen. I didn’t have anyone to walk the boys during the day so into the car they went and to class with me. They did a great job and didn’t pee in the classroom. Although they were at exactly the right height to stick their noses into people’s laptop bags, looking for snacks.

GG has been away this week on some secret training. What does this mean? Besides the fact that I am even more certain that we will never have a smart home? It means that the kittens are allowed to sleep upstairs!!! They have gotten much better at only running around for the first 15 minutes and wrecking the place. After that, they settle down and start sleeping, usually with their paws wrapped around each other or one of the boys.

We got the good news last weekend that Rupert and Meredith have a dog! Stella is her name. We saw pictures of her and I think that she probably already rules their house!

Okay, time to feed the pets and enjoy the last day of summer 😉

Today is your 19th birthday. Yesterday, I stood in line at the paint counter and was so struck by the young man mixing up the paint. He reminded me of you, at your most awkward self. And as he made conversation with me, I found myself stuttering and answering in sentences that didn’t make any sense at all. What I wanted most was to ask him where he was from and who his people were. But I didn’t. Because I felt like I didn’t have the right. And I didn’t want to burden him with the sentence “There’s something about you that really reminds me of my son.”

I ate two pieces of pizza for lunch today, in your honor. They weren’t very good. I am experiencing that repeatedly this week. Things that once meant something don’t really seem to anymore. I don’t mean memories of you. I do mean things like plain cheese pizza from a particular store.

What would you be like now? Would you be hip and happening? Or would you still be slightly awkward and goofy? How tall would you have grown? Would you be a decent bicycle rider or would you be better off on foot? Would you still have that sudden laugh that always sounds like you were being surpised? That’s how I knew that something had really gotten to you, the laugh that came out of nowhere and the one that always made you look around like “Where did that come from?”

What would you be doing? You might have been working fulltime or going to school. We used to talk about your choices and which ones were you going to make. Either way, the rule was clear – work or school, no sitting around the house. What music would you have been making? And dance, you loved to dance.

We love you, Raven. Still. Always.