This afternoon, I had a very pleasant conversation with a friend of our second son.  We covered all sorts of topics. 

My son was here, too, for this chat.  This is a rather remarkable thing.

It seems that 19 is a very busy time of life, pandemic or not.  There are many places to go to, many friends to see, many things to do.  Not too many of these involve parents.  While I understand this is normal, it was rather refreshing to have a real conversation with son number two. Most of our conversations are at meals—or just as he is rushing out the door.

Our son’s friend would not be living with us if it were not for the strange times we are in.  His original housing option—which he had in January and February–fell through in March.  One of his roommates there works at a nursing home, and there are strict protocols about how many people could be in their own family unit.  After some discussion, our son offered to share his room, and we agreed to share our house. Having him in our house—and getting just a bit more time with my own son?  That’s my silver lining for today.