Family day (from a distance)

            I feel like I’ve just played hooky, or snuck a day off the books. Our two Portland-daughter families drove an hour north; we drove an hour south, and we met in the middle at the beautiful Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area in Manchester, Maine, south of Augusta.
            First, it was a spectacular, sun-bright, cloud-dotted, brilliant blue day. Second, we followed a lovely wooded trail around a huge wind-rippled pond. Best of all, though, was spending a few hours with Oscar (granddog), my kids, their husbands, and Fiona, who has graduated to outward-facing mode in her front carrier, so we could see her face (well, most of her face. She was contemplatively mouthing the rim of her cloth carrier much of the day).
            I never knew how hard it would be to refrain from hugging and touching and holding my family, but we maintained the six-feet rule, aided by Jonathan’s six-foot walking stick. Worth every minute.
 
My 60th year in 60,000 words
Day 223: 155 words, TOTAL = 36,308; 23,692 remaining