The other evening, after work, the family had settled down for some TV. I took a place on the couch with my beer in hand. Before long, I felt myself jolt awake. I had fallen asleep. I was tired, but I was happy. This summertime scene often repeats itself, with me in my home with my family, watching TV with a post-work beer. The children snicker. Everything is as it should be.

My father would do the same thing. Post-work beer in front of the evening news. He would drift off to sleep, while Tom Brokaw related tales of the Cold War. As I attempted to change the channel, Dad would suddenly wake. I would grumble. Everything was as it should have been.

So as I open that beer with the evening ballgame in the background, I smile. I am drifting off to sleep with fond memories in mind. The kids still snicker and everything is as it was and still should be.