With two kids in college and one in high school, hanging out together is a matter of timing and luck. Someone goes out later than she had planned; another stays in. Tom and I go to bed later than we would otherwise. Eventually, we all end up in the kitchen.

We don’t do anything special: We laugh, complain, roll our eyes, hug, nag, eat a bowl of cereal and go our separate ways.

But these moments are what I remember when we’re apart.