Dear Stephen,

I recently took a 5-day road trip with my 16 year old son to look at colleges. He’s only a sophomore, so it’s early, but I’m trying to soften the blow and slowly adjust to the thought of him not living with us. This trip was the most time we have spent alone together since he was a toddler. He’s grown into a wonderful young man, surprisingly good natured for a teenager with a very sharp, keen mind, always looking for the ironic. In his early years he was my pal, and I’d read to him literally for hours at a time. I read every “Harry Potter” book aloud…twice. We’d play games competing with each other about much we loved each other. “I love you as much as all the houses in the neighborhood.” “I love you as much as all the grass on the earth.” Once we got to the entire universe the game was over. Those days are long gone, he talks to me a lot less, though I have to admit, the conversations we have now are often more interesting.

I saw this road trip as a way for us to reconnect. I was worried though that the 12 hours of driving in silence might be a bit awkward. That’s when I thought of your stories. I downloaded 19 of them on to my ipod. We enjoyed listening to you talk about Pooch, and your other various adventures. But when we truly appreciated your stories was the last 60 miles of the trip. We got stuck in a traffic jam that took us 4 hours to go 7 miles. Your stories kept us going. As we listened to you, we laughed together. He drove the whole way and not once did he complain.

I will always look back on that trip as a very special time with my son. And woven into that time of bonding, is your voice and your stories. Like the early years of “Goodnight Moon”, and the mid years of “Harry Potter,” your stories are now part of the waning years of his time in our house. Your stories have become part of our story. Thank you so very much.