A day in the city

My nephew is 11. That's a great age. He's feeling adult and is very smart and conversational. Yet he's still all boy, all childlike enthusiasm. So I really enjoyed spending Thursday in Chicago with him, and treasured it all the more because I know he's growing up and that this phase is so fleeting.

First we went to the Chicago History Museum. I loved all the surviving artifacts of the Chicago Fire, but he was more moved by the Lincoln Death Mask. And the lunch we had at the Museum Cafe. Between bites, he looked at me meaningfully and said, "Thank you for today," adding, "This is the second best sandwich I have ever had." (The first best was a burger in Muskegon, Michigan.)

Then it was off to Navy Pier. We rode the ferris wheel, played miniature golf and went through the Amazing Maze over and over again. He was impressed by the opportunity to ride a water taxi up the Chicago River and I got thinking of all the commuters, every day, who take it and take it for granted, reading their newspapers and texting instead of watching the river go by.