The joys of summer and sisters

Danda, you were right about the reason for the silence--entertaining family here, moving one son and entourage to Boston, exploring Squam Lake with three sisters--all wonderful fun, out and about, but with little opportunity to get near a computer. Nevertheless, you are always on my mind, my lucky penny is always in my pocket (even if I have to retrieve it from the bottom of the dryer occasionally), and I am always wishing on shooting stars and wishbones. I am doubling my efforts this week as Thursday approaches. I am determined to hear that Dr. Plowman beamed at you and reported good progress.
So here we are-the four Griffith Girls (hardly "girls" anymore but whenever we're together, we have a way of slipping back to West Hartford and Concord days when we were in fact still girls) on top of a very small mountain in central New Hampshire overlooking Squam Lake, site of the filming of On Golden Pond. For four days we celebrated the 60th birthday of Sue, front right, staying at the lake house of Pam, front left, marveling at how Penny, back left, seems to remember all the little details in the stories of our youth. We hiked, picniced, kayaked, motored the boat to view eagles and loons and quiet backwaters, and cooked elaborate dinners accompanied by exotic drinks, while I read parts of our dad's memoirs of his childhood and school/college days to everyone. We wish he had gone further and revealed all the secrets of his undercover work for Monsanto Chemical Company in Germany in 1938; after he graduated from Princeton, he was hired and apparently sent to determine how far along the Germans were in developing an atomic bomb. He never told us any details; he just hinted at having to be quickly smuggled out of the country...Did he learn something key? Did the Nazis suspect him? I'm afraid we may never know...Happily, there were lots of amusing vignettes involving his grandfather or father or him or a combination thereof in Kansas City, MO and old sepia-colored pictures of relatives we never knew, looking very buttoned up but interesting.
One day when you and Ciara are in your late fifties and mid-sixties, you too can sit around and reminisce about your early years on top of a little mountain overlooking Lake Como or Lake Derwentwater. I can just hear the giggles and feel the wind in your hair and see the light in your eyes. You will be completely yourselves because that's the way sisters are, no matter how different they are. Tuck that away for the future. Be grounded in today. Cuddle with James. The images of the two of you in bed together are so sweet! Love to you all.