You’ve gone to bed several nights too late.  You’ve crashed from over-tiredness.  After all that screaming and running and mask-wearing and banging and rolling and hugging and wrestling and beating and singing and forgetting about eating.  Each day’s been printed with the fingertips of your friends.  So remember them well.

Emerson, Ian, and Bryce after a long afternoon

Eliot from Sunday.  Ian and Emerson from Saturday.  These boys and friends like them will form the circle of love that keeps you going when you hate me, when you’re displeased by your mom.  These boys and friends like them will be the people whose parents will let you come by when I put you out so you can take a teenage version of a timeout.  These are the people you need to keep along the way.

Eliot and Bryce in the pool