Erin left this morning for a trip to Hayward with the Lang/Olson mafia. Looks like a good day and Erin is bound and determined to get in the water even though the ice just went out three weeks ago. I have no doubt she'll be swimming and skiing this afternoon.
I am home finishing up things around the house, starting some prep for our trip abroad, and getting ready for a book event tomorrow up in Minneapolis. If you are out and about tomorrow in the Twin Cities, come by Magers & Quinn on Hennepin and say hello.
By five tomorrow afternoon, the three of us should be reunited up north and spend the weekend together with Grandma and Papa Harkins. Three different routes, three different schedules, but Dan, Erin, and I will be together for Father's Day.
Our plan is to play some golf and watch some golf. Father's day weekend always brings the U.S. Open, which is probably the tournament I enjoy watching the most. The courses are always so difficult that the pros sometimes struggle to make par. That's a little more relatable than watching them shoot 21 under par.
This year's U.S. Open holds a special significance for me and Dan. 19 years ago, while on our honeymoon, we had the opportunity to play Merion Golf Club, the site of this year's open. It's a storied old course, the sight of Bobby Jones' Grand Slam, and Ben Hogan's miraculous comeback from injury with a win at the 1950 U.S. Open.
So, to bore Erin with the story, I pulled out the honeymoon scrapbook and showed her some pictures. Her first comment: "Oh my god, mom, you guys look so young!" The photos don't lie. We were young, and hopeful, and in love. Our future together was promising, and we were excited to get started on making a life together. 19 years later, we've got some battle scars. We're definitely a little older, and, hopefully, a little wiser. Luckily, we're still navigating this life together, and still in love...
