Happy Birthday, my son

My son turns 23 today. Twenty years ago, he looked a bit different than he does now, but then, don't we all?

I know that he’s grown a beard, because I’ve seen the pictures on Facebook. That’s also where I discovered that he’d gone sky-diving over the weekend.

But some things haven't changed. He loved tales of fantasy and adventure then, and he loves them still today.

I haven’t seen him all summer, since mid-May when he left to work as an actor/tech in The Lost Colony. As we do each year around Willem's birthday, my husband and I are packing and cleaning and preparing to leave our summer cabin. School starts soon, and we need to settle into our home in Virginia again.

But first we’ll head to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to see Willem, The Lost Colony, and the beach. A glorious last hurrah for this glorious summer.

None of the earrings still sitting in my traveling box appealed to me this morning. So as I raced out the door to yoga, I grabbed a pair of beads and a pair of hoops. Presto, earrings!

This afternoon as I packed, I put my summer earrings into a box to take home--all except today's pair, which still dangled from my ears. So I hung them on the empty wire to photograph.

I imagine that image captures some of what Willem will feel when he finishes his last performance of this season, the same play night after night, 6 days a week, 15 weeks without a break... and then it's over. One more semester of college, after so many years of school... and then it's over.

New adventures await.