21 years and 85 days ago we brought you home for the first time and you made our little house at 10 Nacional St a home. You tolerated a lot from a father who didn’t know what he was doing.  That first paternal diaper change probably scarred you for life. There has been a ton of water under the bridge since June 8th 1993. I hope your memories are happy ones. Indeed, the memories you provided for me have been nothing but joyous. I am the luckiest father for having such a son. There were some stresses for both of us: PONY baseball, boy scouts,  River School, and DinoSphere to list a few. But you steadfastly remained the most caring, kind, and sensitive boy throughout.

And now tonight we come home from Moraga to an empty house. For the first time in 21 years and 85 days, no children reside here. It is very strange and it’ll take a while to get used to this. Simply put, I miss you already. We didn’t leave you in the best of circumstances. The Moraga house where we hugged goodbye is an unmitigated disaster. But it’ll get cleaned and put to rights. I know that the dedicated determined little boy who graced our home will thrive despite the disgusting pantry. There will be disappointments and set backs this year and next, I’m sure.  But the essence of who you are will serve as your keel to right your ship in difficult times. 

Mom and I are now alone in this 4-bedroom nest. That’s something that’ll take a little getting used to. Two years ago, Rachel picked up the slack when you first went to SMC. Now that she’s in Pennsylvania, please don’t be too upset if we need to get our kid-fix by visiting more than you might like. I just like spending time with you. I love who you are and what you stand for. I love your friends, and what you believe in. I love what you do and where you’re headed. You have matured into quite an impressive young man in my opinion. And on this first night of a new stage of my life, I am so grateful for the way you have enriched our home and my life. I love you, Jack

Katie and Roy left the cabin very early (5:30). Three hours later, I peddled down to the public beach. I just missed Katie’s wave go off in the swim. I found Roy and we waited 24 minutes for Katie to finish the 0.95 mile swim. (About as long as it took me to swim 400m.) Then she headed out on the bike, up the old highway to Kingvale. Then the climbing really began. She cruised back and then circled the lake on the run. Rachel tried to see her on the road at the cabin, but missed her when a competitor needed to pee near where she was. Rach wisely gave the man as much privacy as peeing on So. Shore Dr. could privide. Mom and Dad also went up to the road to look for her, but she was too fast and had already gone by. I thought Katie looked great and fresh as she returned to the finish. In what was an “ok” day, she finished 3rd in her age group.

After lunch, Rachel and I went down to the dock for a little reading and “dock diving”. There’s some smoke from the Sands fire but it’s too far away to be a danger here. Mom and Dad stayed on the deck and read most of the afternoon. Rachel and I went to the park for a walk to Split Rock, and then along the shore. A jump on the lake was necessary after a strenuous adventure.

Dinner were lamb chops, peas, and couscous. Dad apparently doesn’t like couscous and stared at the pot as it cooked, repeatedly asking, “What’s that stuff?” As Mom and I were serving up, he told her “I don’t want any of that.” Which was a bit of a bummer since the lambs off which these chops came must have been miniature. Kind of bite sized chops really. At the end of dinner, Mom said “I have another four chops in the fridge.” I’m not sure why we didn’t cook them as well. As we were doing the dishes, Dad must have still been hungry, since he saw some mint Cliffbars in the kitchen. He asked what they were and then took a carving knife out to open the package. According to him, it was good, but I’m not sure it was better than the couscous. Mom and Dad only had one or maybe two libations before the Old Crow ran out, so the after dinner conversation was, well, a conversation. Rachel and I watched the end of the movie “Rocket Boys” and headed off to bed.

We got up around 8:30 this morning.  Mom and Dad had already finished one pot of coffee and we’re brewing a second. Mom was working on a shopping list. As I was finishing my “Honey Bunches of Oats”, Dad asked if I’d be willing to go shopping with him. Two spoonfuls later, we were out the door.  The crowd was bigger today.  So Dad drove the cart, and I would run ahead getting the next item. When we got back to the cabin, Katie and Roy had arrived.

Katie and I went for a swim (Katie went further faster, mind you.) And Rachel and Roy paddled kayaks making sure one of us didn’t drown. After a nice lunch on the deck, we returned to the dock for more kayaking fun. A great “feat of strength” was trying to stand up in a kayak in the middle of the length.  We did some dock jumping to celebrate our fun times. In this photo here,  Roy captured us both executing perfect Swan dives. Of course had his photography instructor known how to use his own phone before handing it off to Roy we would have had a cool video.

In the evening Kate and I picked up our race packets at 5:00 at the public beach. There wasn’t a lot of pre-race info,  but it was a nice evening to be outside. We got our numbers and went to a sort of swim clinic. When we got back to the cabin, we had a really great dinner with everyone, although someone didn’t want me to take the picture. Can ya guess who?

This afternoon, after loading up the car for the Donner Lake Triathlon, Rachel and I drove to Del Mesa to pick up Mom and Dad. This would be their first visit to Donner Lake since 2010. The ride up was pretty easy, a little traffic in Stockton and again in Sacramento. After getting drinks at Starbucks, Rachel noted that “watching G’ma and G’pa cross the street is the cutest thing ever.” Dad is helpful and caring as Mom moves to the car.

The audio selections in the car are always difficult when driving with M & D. Radio Lab episode about the Galapagos tortoises seemed to be a good choice, until one of the naturalists tried to help George, the only surviving tortoise on one island, mate with a female from a different island. It was about then that Dad announced the batteries in his hearing aid were going out. Coincidence? We didn’t stop at Ikeda, much to Dad’s delight. According to him, all of his cars automatically takes the turn off for fresh peaches and cheeries. After Auburn, the audio selection was “Tech Week” which bored all but one in the car. The sun was beginning to set, and the light on the hills around Blue Canyon was pretty special. Dad noted how beautiful the Sierras a couple of times. Indeed they are.

Dad does the shopping in Carmel these days. We stopped at Safeway for pizza, sweet rolls (they still make those?) and ice cream. At first Rachel and I kind of lost track of Dad, only to discover he was on a mission for hearing aid batteries. Choosing the right one is a little more challenging than you might think. Dad’s ultimate goal when shopping is to spend as little time in the store as possible, even if his granddaughter were still getting cereal. Donner Lake doesn’t change a whole lot, so the drive around the lake was pretty fun, seeing the same cabins and signs around So Shore Dr. Once at the cabin, Mom took her time getting down the path, but it wasn’t difficult at all. Dad was a little out of breath, but he insisted on carrying a bag down from the car. Once in the cabin, they were both very happy. They thanked Rachel and me several times for driving and getting them to the cabin. At one point, Dad looked at Mom and said, “I love you.” Talk about touching. As we enjoyed our dinner of Digiorno pizza, we noted that the pine cones decorating the cabin were probably 45 years old. We reflected on those summers prior to buying the cabin, particularly renting this cabin while it rained for two weeks. Dad described getting the phone call from Carson White describing a new cabin that came on the market, and how the purchase occurred. We headed to bed full, happy, and looking forward to seeing Katie & Roy tomorrow.