~John

We had a blast. Burned some marshmallows. Ate some giant s’mores. Put some more wood on the fire. We watched the sun set, and then the planet and stars come out in the gloaming. Then, as the darkness closed in, the noises seemed to intensify. From the freight trains, to the neighbor’s dogs, then the coyotes across the valley, it seemed like Jack’s eyes got bigger and bigger, and his little chin quivered** into turbo mode. After reading with our headlamps, and tucking him into my huge mummy of a sleeping bag, I knew that all of the flashlights in the world weren’t going to make him feel safe enough to stay for the night. So by 9:55, he was safely tucked in his ‘real’ bed, and I was left with a couple of mosquito bites, some photographs, and some great memories. Hopefully, there will be many more of these trips to come as he gets older and more adventurous. I just hope that I don’t get less adventurous as I get older:)

I really am enjoying this thing they call Fatherhood.

~John

**the chin quivering…it’s a Bamber family trait. Somewhere next to where I inherited the love of cheesy jokes and 20/10 vision, there’s a gene that’s destroyed our family line’s chances of ever being a secret agent or a poker player: the quivering chin…our “tell.” It seems that about 1/3 of the time that we’re awake: sometimes when we’re nervous, sometimes when we’re concentrating, and sometimes when we’re just giving Mom that puppy-dog look…that our chins seem to jump up and down about 4 times per second. Full disclosure here…