….if only they could talk.

They’d tell you of all the places that your mom and I have walked.

In between these picnic tables on our wedding day and the exact same spot today in celebration of that special day in July.

The smallest bar in the Keys,

A few trips to West Baden.

The pictures we hang only tell part of our story,

Countless lakes, streams, creeks, and rivers.

Two oceans, a bay, and The Gulf.

They’ve seen the stars from Northern Michigan.

I have even taken them across our northern border.

The hundreds of miles walked on the trails of Indiana with your mom, the pups, and now the two of you.

The good memories far out weigh the sad, mad, and mundane ones.

Their hacked up today, just below the knees.

Frayed, blown out in more places than one, but they always have a way of taking me back to those places and special moments.

Now relegated to the yard,

sometimes used as a prop during my SAHD adventures as a..

scallywag,

surfer dude,

snowboarder,

or a hobo with a bindle

They’re a great piece of the character wardrobe

A character near and dear to my daughters hearts of my own creation,

started as a Jack Sparrow imitation,

then evolved with a hint of other characters such as

Jake from Paw Patrol and a splash of Spicolli

That beautiful land of make believe I now share my two little ladies,

If only they could talk because I wonder about all those moments I have lost.

And to my wife solely thanks for the pants and the last 10 years.

Thanks for reading.

Ken