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Dear Lucy,

Summer is here again. It’s amazing and rather humbling to think of all the changes the ramshackle barn and the family that moved into it experienced over this past year.

Tom finished high school and married his high school sweetheart, Abigail is almost done with school and the twins are close on her heels. Not sure where life will take them but I like to think that they’ll be prepared to meet it head on.

At the very least, they have some basic tools in their toolbox and the knowledge of what to do with them.

Several birthdays will be celebrated today and the air is filled with excitement … or more correctly, the smell of birthday cake as Tom uses his newest acquisition for the first time.

“Happy Birthday, Luke!” It was good to hear from Jolene.

It was even better to see Jolene!

Unbeknownst to me, the kiddos planned for Jolene to come for a visit and pick up their gift from the store.

They also planned for me to blow out the candles. Being told that it was my turn to be taken care of brought tears to my eyes which was quickly covered up by laughter when Abigail’s stomach began to rumble.

At this point, age is just a number. I don’t look or feel different.

I was contemplating another slice of the delicious cake when I realized that Jolene was complimenting me on our home. I let her know that it was a team effort and explained how we tried to follow the notes that Lucy left behind.

Abigail and the twins invited a few friends over so I took that as a sign to have a little alone time with Jolene.

Sometimes nectar loosens tongues too much but, in this instance, it helped me say what I felt without feeling stupid. Thankfully Jolene felt the same and we agreed to try a mutually exclusive long-distance relationship and see what happens.

Kissing her felt right and before I could explore my feelings any further, noise drew us upstairs.
Happy Birthday, Abigail!

Vanessa’s present, a guitar, was a big hit!

(Addy’s Note: Several neighbors dropped by to enjoy the impromptu concert: Zac Whipsnake, wearing the culinary apron, and Cornell Riffin. Cornell stood near the tree so might not be visible in the screenshots.)

Before we turned in for the night, Abigail pulled me aside and thanked me for being there to love and support them when their parents weren’t able to. She knows it couldn’t have been easy single-handedly raising four children and is sure they would be proud of what we’ve accomplished together.

When asked how she knew, she replied that it’s just a feeling she had.

She’s right. I feel it too.

Thanks,
Luke

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