Northstar Vale I can take apart the remote control

The emotive response caught her by surprise, though Towhee instantly understood. At least, she thought she did. After all, Jack wasn’t the only one who thought young lives sometimes went too fast.

Setting the sleeping Towhee Jr on the soft goatskin, Towhee stood and moved to settle beside her son, pressing her shoulder into his. She angled her face to catch the tears at the corners of his eyes, gently kissing them away.

We can’t stop time or even slow it down. I wish. I wish we could rewind it altogether sometimes, Towhee said in her flat, quiet voice. What we can do is savor it. Make the most of it. Never take any of it for granted.

They weren’t the most comforting words, perhaps, but they were the truth, as far as Towhee knew it. Hopefully these two would simply grow up and find their own place in the world, rather than stop living in it, like Leo had. But the reality was they would very likely leave their family one day. Most did.

You know what I’ll never take for granted? You being here with us, Jackie. I’m so glad, she added, shifting to throw a foreleg over his shoulders and kiss him soundly on the temple.