- Twizzlers
- Smell of boat gas
- 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 (counting heads bobbing in the river)
- "Mom, can I have a pop?"
- "Dad, can I drive the boat?"
- Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen (with the occasional forgotten "top o' the ear")
- "He threw sand on me!!"
- Sleeping prone across the back of the boat.
- Boat songs! Peter Cetera (Next Time I Fall, Glory of Love), Whitney Houston (Greatest Love of All), James Ingram/Linda Rondstadt (Somewhere Out There)....too many more to list
- "I'm hungry"
- Sleepy, sun-drenched child crumped in lap. The musty smell of life jacket not able to drown that wonderful "baby smell."
- "I wanna ride the ski rocket/ski biscuit."
- "Do I hafta wear my life jacket?"
- Gassing up at Babe's dock.
- "Gramma, can we still come up here when you die?"
- What kind of chicken do you want? "I'll have the drumsticks." I'll have the drumsticks." "I'll have the head."
- B-4 (Barn Brunch by Bayliner)
- "Whoa, look at that one!" (at fireworks, anchored in the bay at DBQ)
- DQ - Dyersville
- (Brushing tangled hair) "That hurts!!"
- St. Feriole Railroad ice cream car
- The smell of after-river, after-bath, after-lotion children in clean jammies.
- Blankies. Three of them.
- "I hafta go to the bathroom."
- Feeling, knowing, sensing Him in the water lapping on fiberglass, wind in my face, and tree-laden bluffs.
- The Carry. Up the stairs upon arrival home. Heavy with sleep. Sand in their hair. Loved. Safe. Home.
There's one thing we never did together while sequestered as a family in the boat, and I regret that. I think of how blessed, protected and cared for we were. Shame on me. That's the only part I'd do over.
Tea today: Maa Feng
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