Apple Picking, with or without Ben

Let's be honest.  Ben has been doing way too much of THIS lately:

He is getting down to the final push for getting his job market paper done.  He had his first big presentation last Friday, which was a big hurdle to get over, but he still has quite a bit to do through Thanksgiving.  

I cannot complain.  Ben's schedule has been really great for the last four years.  He has been home for dinner before 6:00 every night, and for the most part, he has had nights and weekends free.  But when it came down to finishing his research and the big paper -- the one that is supposedly going to get him a job -- he has ended up needing to sprint to the finish.  For the past two months, he has been trying to squeeze in as much work as possible into every extra minute.  He's been waking up and going into the office early, still home for dinner, but then he has been working nights and weekends as much as possible.  

I fully support him, since I definitely want him to get a job, and I want him to do as well as possible.  But what KILLS me is that our lives and the seasons are going on without him!  I used to be able to convince him to take a day off for a family apple picking trip, but it didn't happen this year.  So, we went without him!  I was just sick to my stomach, driving through perfect fall country towns that were absolutely stunning, just knowing that Ben was missing it all!  Still, we had a great time, and it was fun to go with Rachel and her kids.  And the cider donuts were good, as always . . . even without Ben. :)

These boys melt my heart.