It was the first time I rode that bike, and I think it was also the first time my wife and I went to the park that summer. We always tell each other, Wouldn't it be nice to spend the whole afternoon just reading at the park? It's one of those things we always say we want to do but rarely make the time for.

That Sunday, we finally made the time. And it was prefect. We brought a blanket to read on and I think we even dozed off in the sun. The wind didn't even flap the pages of our books (like it usually does!). It was the very essence of summer reading in the park. 

I posted this picture on Instagram and was glad I did. Months later when Hamilton was enduring one of the coldest and longest winters in memory, I would happen to scroll past this photo and it brought me right back to that afternoon. I can still feel the ground under the blanket and the pages of the book I was reading about soviet Russia. 

There's not a lot too this memory. But it's the only picture I know of where I had a strong sense that I was storing something up that I would use later on. I suppose that means this picture about aging. If this is part of what aging is about, I'm okay with that.