09/13/2026
SUNDAY REFLECTIONS
We knew this year would come.
Senior year.
And somehow we went from that picture… to this.
The start of school has been the usual chaos, but this year feels different.
And I think, as a family, we’re ready.
Friday night I asked Elyse what she was doing Saturday.
“Oh, I signed up to take the SATs again.”
Okay.
Where?
An hour and a half away.
She wasn’t asking me for a ride.
She had already signed herself up and planned to drive there, take a three-hour exam, then drive herself home.
She was just doing it.
She told me, “Dad, you don’t need to do this. You’ve got a lot going on.”
I told her:
I have one job as a father.
So I got up early, made her crepes and drove her down.
Then Mum picked her up so I could get back and open the Cafe.
That gave me an hour and a half with her on the way down and Catherine an hour and a half with her on the way home.
Honestly, that was the best part.
Just driving.
Talking about life. Summer.
What comes next.
Probably Buttahs somewhere in there.
All you “I wish they stayed little forever” people can have the baby picture.
I love that little girl.
But I’ll take 18-year-old Elyse riding sh***un any day.
Fast forward to this morning.
It’s about 3:45 AM.
I’m making coffee to write this, when Dylan pops his head in looking for his takeout.
I’m thinking…
You’re still up?
Nope.
He had stayed up late grinding through cleaning the living room and his room because he told me he’d have it done by the end of the week.
He finished it and all his school work.
Fell asleep.
Woke up hungry.
So there I am at 3:45 watching him absolutely destroy a Dave’s Hot Chicken. The irony on 6 different levels.
And I had the same feeling I had with Elyse in the car.
Give me those five minutes.
Seriously.
I’ll take them every time.
Not because the room got cleaned.
Because he said he’d do it.
And he did.
Hard work.
Your word.
Following through confidently
Somewhere between the SAT ride and the 3:45 AM hot chicken, I had one of those moments.
They’re both going to be okay.
Parents, you know that feeling.
That little moment when you stop worrying and just see them.
Not as little kids.
As people.
And you think…
Yeah.
They’ve got this.
Maybe senior year isn’t about getting your kids ready to leave.
Maybe you’ve been doing that the whole time.
Maybe it’s about realizing they’re ready.
And maybe we are too.
Now listen…
I still have two kids looking at colleges that apparently missed the memo about being affordable. 😂
So somehow I still have to sell you something.
🍺 $6 drafts all day.
🦞 Dave’s Famous Lobster Rolls continue doing their part to fund higher education.
Open at 11:30.
Help send two overachievers to college.
I’m only half kidding.
But seriously…
I look at those two little kids in this picture and of course I miss them.
But I wouldn’t trade the people they are today just to have the little versions back.
Not for a minute.
Remember my motto I don’t look for days off anymore I look for moments….
Thanks for spending a few minutes at my table.
— Dave
Stories from the Gateway to Maine
