Sunday found us acting like an old couple and taking off in the family carriage for a long drive to act, if nothing else, like we had some place to go, someone to see, or something to do, when in reality we had none of those.   After a good deal of jaunting around, supporting the gasoline economy by adding to the ozone layer, and checking out some wicked corn fields, we ended up at Beed’s Lake State Park near Hampton, IA, and let the munchkin stretch his legs.

His outfit, as it turned out, matched nicely with the playground furniture although I assure you that was not the intention, but proves that he is photogenic even when seemingly camouflaged in his natural environment.

The lake was glass-calm and not a breeze bothered the leaves of the turning trees above our heads as we walked hand-in-hand with our little boy between us, crunching the leaves underneath the soles of his sneakers and pointing out the flowers (wa-wah!) and various bugs (beeee!).     I could feel myself disconnect from the world as a whole and sink into the serenity of the moment, even a little, as my heart surrounded my wife and my son and hugged it all closely, if only for a sunset.