FINAL SUMMER MONDAY

It was the last Monday of summer. Most of it was spent out of the house driving all over town for one thing or another. The children were ready early for school this morning and we all walked together, arriving before the first bell rang. When I returned home, I climbed into my car and drove to the gym.

Perhaps I should have gone inside the house before getting into my car. I would then have noticed the steady stream of water which was left running in the children's bathroom for the two hours I had been gone. It was those awkward globe-type faucet handles again. When quizzed, the three did not remember which one of them was the last to use the sink.

I arrived home this afternoon just as the children walked up to the door. Perfect timing. My last stop was to the copy place to print out Saffron's homework so she could get it completed before the activities of the week started.

The girls retreated to their rooms where Saffron completed the first of four pages of her math homework. As Sage was going up the stairs, he told me about an assignment he worked on today where he had to write three wishes. One of his wishes was that his stepdad would come to visit us for Christmas. 'Because [he] is my stepdad', he made sure to emphasize.

My boyfriend and I both wonder how the children have taken such a liking to him since they have never met him in person. 'But I see him on Skype', is the typical answer along with '...just because.' Children are amazing in this sense as they love without question and without condition. We will simply have to learn to accept this fact and not question it too much. Their smiling faces and open arms are all the confirmation we need.