The photo, which had been shot for our engagement, has been on the wall of one home office or another: first the one in Yemen, and for some years now, our work space here in Uganda.
My Bride and I are on the shore Lake Erie, just outside of St. Thomas where, in another life, I was a reporter. We’re sitting on the rocks, enjoying the moment, looking rather young and hip and energetic.
‘Oh Mr. Thom, look at you. You’re so young,’ is how the nanny put it recently. She was talking to me and Liz, who stood beside me.
‘Both of you look so young,’ she said. ‘Look at your skin. Liz, look at mom,’ she said. ‘Look at dad. They’re both so very beautiful. Everything is still intact.’
She continued. ‘Now you’re so old. Now you have wrinkles.’
Okay, okay. But intact? I mean, is the ballast of experience that much less valuable than the wonder of youth?
In either case, do be careful who you entrust your kids to.