Ten years ago today...

I'll tell you what, nothing like "Facebook memories" to remind you of the passing of time and just add a little bit more to the melancholy I'm already experiencing today.

Ten years ago today--January 6, 2013--I took the boys to the small hill behind their elementary school for some sledding. It was the day before they had to go back to school. They were eleven and seven years old. I had forgotten that in the chaos of getting their snow pants, coats, and boots on as well as gathering up the sleds, discs, and various snow hill sliding devices, I locked my keys in the house. That meant we had to walk to the hill, which is about 3/4 mile from the house. That is not an unmanageable distance, but with two kids in snow gear and several sleds, it was much less convenient than throwing everything in the car and driving there. (As for how we got back in the house after we were finished sledding--I can't remember. Maybe L. arrived home from work or wherever she was and let us in).

This is a picture I took of the boys from the top of the hill. It's not much of a hill, but still pretty thrilling if you are a child. I always enjoyed just standing there and watching them slide down the hill, whooping and hollering in excitement. That made whatever discomfort I was feeling from the cold just a bit more bearable. I would occasionally slide down the hill myself and for a few seconds feel the old thrill of being a kid again.

Today is our last partial day with older son before we drive him to the airport, where he will fly back to Germany. The cyclical nature of life--the accidental coincidental cyclical nature of life--can be stunning sometimes.