The First Pictures

I sent my photos on Monday night and then I received the first photos from Kevin on Tuesday morning, while at work.

Hotmail does this thing where the photos are at the top of the email, in a preview mode, and then the email message is below. So I just opened the photos without reading the message.

The first photo was of my three siblings and, is that Kevin? Wow, if I'm being honest here, he looks really old for 45. But he looks very familiar...no wait, that's Stuart McLean. Embarrassing mistake! Even if it was just in my head! I think I need to read the email message before I continue looking at these photos.

Hi Haley,

Here are a few photos of us, the first one is of Daniel, Amy, & Sarah with Stuart McLean of the Vinyl Café (CBC) when we got hauled up on stage. The next two are of my wife Linda and daughter Amy at a Christmas light show, then Dan & myself at same show. Wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have a photo of the dog in there…his name is Danny.

Kevin

OK, I'll admit that I cried when I looked through the photos, but that's just between you and I. What a beautiful family. They look so friendly! Oh, the dog is adorable. I love dogs, and this one looks like a keeper. I quickly call the ladies I work with in to see the pictures. I'm pretty sure there are no dry eyes in the place.

This makes it feel more real. Up to now it's just been a few short words back and forth, meaningful yes, but just words. To see Kevin's face, to see my siblings, to see Linda...it's overwhelming. I am completely ruined for the rest of the day. This starts a horrible decline in my efficiency.