Today we dropped Kelly off at his summer camp, Unirondack, where he’ll stay for the next two weeks. We drove up yesterday from Philly (where we had some education on a new treatment protocol we’re adopting for his IBD) to Syracuse to see—and stay with—friends overnight.

We dropped Kelly off at camp Sunday afternon, but not until we had made the traditional stop at Jeb’s, a restaurant in Lowville, NY, the town nearest camp. Kelly got his “usual,” an Adirondack burger (pictured above).

It was a beautiful day and the camp looked awesome. It’s a lot of fun to see Kelly so excited to arrive and see his friends there. With him safely situated, Virginia and I began the 344-mile drive home. In a word, ugh. It’s good to be home.

With Pete at Bloomsburg for summer school, Virginia and I are suddenly (and temporarily) empty nesters. And just like with Pete, that came home after we said goodbye to Kelly and watched him walk off toward the woods and to his friends. You spend a long time raising these guys, and then you have some time on your hands.

The house is gonna be very strange for the next two weeks.