My youngest daughter left for college last week, and I have a new puppy in the house. My daughter has a studio in the recently "renewed" basement, and she left an unfinished painting behind. It has a few yellow flowers in the center of the unframed canvas is all, and even that makes me smile because when I look at it it reminds me of how she sees things with depth and color and freshness.It's not the first time she's been away. But it always feels the same, a little sadness mixed with a little satisfaction. The puppy is what I get to take care of now, but she too will grow fast and then all I'll have to do is put food and water in her dishes and let her out to go to the bathroom. Everything moves along the timeline of life-whether we want it to or not. I am one of those things on that line, and as I move along, I can only hope that I don't see too many missed opportunities when I look back.
