When the Prescott clan descends on the river in north-central Nebraska for fun and frivolity and to canoe the river, it is always a good time. When I contemplate going, I always go with a lot of hopes:

I hope I can finish the book I start listening to on the drive. I hope I have a  lot of good coffee on the road, after getting the worst coffee ever one time in McCook! Chocolate is a definite must, especially when I sit under that big tree at Rock Barn to grade papers. I hope my sister makes a lot of those monster cookies chock full of chocolate chips and M&Ms. I hope we end up on another trail ride Sunday night after we canoe the river–I love to watch the sunset through the dusty haze the horses make as they walk along the trail down to the river. I love to hear the bantering back and forth as we brothers and sisters pick up our childhood habits and enjoy each other as adults.

It is short, this time together, as it is when we meet for Christmas and other times, but it reconnects us as always and we seem to pick up right where we left off.