Time spent with family at the cabin in Montana had turned sour for Tom. He sat alone, away from the others and he could feel his heart aching, and he knew it was because his pride was broken — dashed upon the kitchen floor. The lump in his throat was just subsiding, and he thought back on the moment when he felt himself explode. It took everyone by surprise because it was so out of character for him. Tom looked down at his boots and frowned. He had these boots because they were good for doing outdoor stuff, like hiking, or horseback riding, or work around the cabin. They were several years old, but they still looked new. They were neatly placed on his feet, laces tied with the usual care, and ready to work. He wished the boots were scuffed and weathered, and he hated their newness. He kicked at the dirt and looked up at the yard, and the dirt road, and the mountains beyond. As he sat there, he thought about his wife, and his daughter, and the rest of the family who were all back inside, and he wondered what they thought of him at that moment. He was embarrassed as heck because he never lost his temper, and his regret mixed with his despair, and the sadness stretched out over the yard with tall grass. He wanted to go back in time, and erase what happened, and go back to the easy, confident man he was before. It was a silly thing he wanted and he had not even given a thought to his simple offer because, of course, something needed to be done and it was a small thing. And when he stated what he was going to do, it was said without hesitation and without fear because he never realized the fragile person he was, after all. And when his offer was rebuked, and his objection ignored, the walls came crashing down, and he was left sitting at the edge of the yard hating his new boots. Where he sat was the place he and his wife had built their cabin of dreams, and where he brought his young family to see the rugged beauty, and the lake. Those many years he was the leader of his small troop, as the kids played and grew up, and his wife looked to him for his strength and his wisdom. Over all those years, the place they came to had settled into a comfortable, familiar place where they aged their dreams, and their life together. It was the family's place now and they shared it with love, and they moved quietly aside for those they cared about. And as he thought and felt those things, he looked at his hands. They were resting on his knees and they had not moved for the whole time he was sitting here. He considered the weathered surface, the age spots that now peppered the skin and they looked somehow thinner are more frail than he remembered. Those same hands had held his babies, and his heart had bursted with love when they came into the world, and he was gentle as he held their small sweet bodies, and he carried them with the pride of fatherhood, and he knew he would always protect them. He thought about all the years he had provided for his family, and he was a successful engineer, and his sharp mind and his strong body had served the family in all matters, and he had held the babies, and he had driven the long miles, and he had fixed the broken things, and he had written the checks. And these thoughts were around him, and he knew his hands and brains and body were capable and strong because that was him. Then a cold wind blew hard in from the lake, and he steadied himself. He thought about his family waiting inside, and he felt a warm glow in his chest that comforted him. He decided to let the bad feelings go, and they swirled around in his mind and filtered away. The world stood still, a moment passed, and he drew a deep breath and felt the calm of the place of their dreams. Then he stood up straight, and went inside, and took off his boots and sat with the others in the cabin, and looked out the window at the yard with the tall grass.