"The kids"

My daughter Rachel and my son Ben made an appearance in the first post I wrote for Orange Crate Art, wherein I thanked them for getting me started writing online. They were "the kids" then, teenagers.

Today Rachel graduates from college, wearing a "cabin gown" — many years ago, she thought that's what they were called. (Congradulations, Rachel!) And Ben turns twenty. (Happy birthday, Ben!) "The kids" are now my daughter the linguist and my son the philosopher, having grown up into grown-ups, not quite out of the family orbit yet, but moving off into orbits of their own. Does that make them rogue planets? My astronomy metaphors are clumsy at best.

When I began writing Orange Crate Art in 2004 (as a place to collect items relevant to my teaching), I never thought I'd be writing about my children, except to thank them for getting me started. I have of course written about them many times since then. This post is to salute them for their generosity, humor, imagination, kindness, and wisdom — and whatever else I've left out.

[Photograph by Elaine Fine, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 15, 2009.]

Related posts
Big Day, Huge Feelings (Elaine's post today)
Happy Father's Day (with a c. 1990 photo)
Things my children no longer say (e.g., "cabin gown")