daughters and moving forward

Evening. We listen to a commonwealth of songs – her Ipod, my Itunes -- and we compare associations. This one is from your college graduation! (Her college Master used the poetry of the song at commencement; four years later, she used it again for my younger daughter’s graduation. Poor woman – I figure she ran out of ideas.)

Ed is driving his truck east tonight. Ed. The purchaser of a cell phone on EBay. With an even cheaper sim card, also from EBay, so that you never know if his non response is the fault of a cheap, useless sim card or the result of a rolled over truck, because he just will not spend the money on a motel room unless I'm there, urging him to pause and rest.

My daughters connect with each other on the phone. Listening to them talk is the perfect wrap up to the night. I feel I have done my bit. Their lives are set. They are moving forward.

Ed calls. He is somewhere in Pennsylvania, zipping forward. He has to prove that he needs no stop over, no rest point, no break, nothing but the Ebay cellphone and his truck.


I’m winding down. I had two weekends with daughters and I’m winding down. I move away quietly, listening to them laugh with each other on the phone over some website or other.

Ed? Are you there?

I sit with my camera at dinner, hoping that I can catch just a second of it all before we all disperse and move forward.