Imperfect

Fourth Grade Fraction Feast

2017-01-31T22:06:00.004-05:00

Atticus had an assignment to find a practical application for fractions. Logically, he chose baking. He is my child after all.

He decided to make "Butter Horns" which is a recipe my mom makes and passed on to me. These little buttery crescent rolls are a cross between brioche and a dinner roll. They have 1 cup of butter, and 4 eggs plus flour, sugar, milk, and yeast. They are heavenly. Typically, we make these for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Never have they been made in January! But they are perfect for the fraction feast Atticus was to have at school.

Not only did it involve using measuring ingredients that were in fraction form, it involves rolling the dough out into 9 inch circles and cutting that into 12 equal triangles.

There should be a picture HERE of Atticus enjoying his creation. I'll work on that.

I also got busy making some Toddler Montessori Material and writing my lesson plan for the Teacher Training I will be doing this summer.

MLK Jr. Day

2017-01-16T22:46:00.000-05:00

I was very touched to read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak about education this way, especially right now. I always get very emotional on this day, and am having trouble finding words to describe all the things I am feeling on this particular MLK day, so close to President Obama's last day in office. I am concerned about the climate in the US, and how it will affect my children.

One of the reasons I love Montessori Education, one reason I am drawn to it, is because it encourages children to have a global perspective. Montessori build into the pedagogy, lessons to educate children on different cultures and how to care for other humans. Montessori schools practice Peace education, and conflict resolution is actually part of the curriculum. Montessori believed children are the hope of humankind.

“Within the child lies the fate of the future.”

― Maria Montessori

“Preventing war is the work of politicians, establishing peace is the work of educationists.”
― Maria Montessori

This photo of my 3 year old doing the Pink Tower is iconic of Montessori education. I love this photo so much, and I love the pink squares he cut out and carefully glued onto the paper. He is showing focus and concentration, and he is enjoying his work. This is what Dr. King was talking about, giving a child things worthy to concentrate on, and allowing them the power of concentration. From there, education builds, just like each block of the Pink Tower, to support a human who is aware of issues in society, who is empathetic and loving. Education isn't just about academics. It is about allowing a child to blossom into who they were meant to be, not forcing them to be something they are not.
The younger generation has always been the leaders of social change, and I don't think it will be any different now. We need a strong group of young people to lead us out of this mess we have created. I will continue to do my part as a teacher, helping to guide children and teachers as best I can.

Nature Walk II; Montessori quotes about teenagers

2017-01-09T13:44:00.000-05:00

We escape sometimes, far away, deep into nature. As my children grow into teenagers, I find myself looking to my well loved child development books to figure out how to parent in a new way, to a child in a new plane of development. I am sharing some of my favorite quotes from Marie Montessori about the older child.

"Life in the open air, in the sunshine, and a diet high in nutritional content coming from the produce of neighbouring fields improve the physical health, while the calm surroundings, the silence, the wonders of nature satisfy the need of the adolescent mind for reflection and meditation." (From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 67)

When children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength.- Discovery of the Child

"The adolescent must never be treated as a child, for that is a stage of life that he has surpassed. It is better to treat an adolescent as if he had greater value than he actually shows than as if he had less and let him feel that his merits and self-respect are disregarded." (From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 72)

It is also necessary for his psychical life to place the soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for himself treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature- The Montessori Method

Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and, when the grass of the meadows is damp with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath it's shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning as it wakes every living creature that divides its day between waking and sleeping- The Discovery of the Child

Nature Walk I North Eleuthera

2017-01-08T13:23:00.001-05:00

There is a cave in North Eleuthera, Bahamas, called Preachers Cave. The cave was discovered in the 1600's by Captain William Sayles who was shipwrecked on Devils Backbone, a reef by the island. Castaways took shelter in the cave. It is a large, shallow cave that we really enjoyed exploring.

North Eleuthera has many beaches to explore. There was nobody on them, we had the beach to ourselves.

I loved seeing the plants that grew in the rocks. Inspiration for a rock garden at home.

Snails hold onto anything.

Rocky formations mingled with sandy beaches and made for good snorkeling

A tiny little beach hut or a sculpture?

Happy New Year

2017-01-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Tomorrow it's back to school for me. Time to set the alarm and hope there is enough coffee and motivation to get me through.

Also time to share a photo from our recent trip;

When I look at this picture, I think, the water was cold and we were being eaten up by bugs. You know who didn't complain though, my 10 year old Atticus. He was so happy to get in that water and look for fish. He found a "happy little trail" as he called it, of warm water and soft sand.

"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons."- unknown

An Investment in Health

2016-12-31T08:08:00.000-05:00

“The woods were my Ritalin. Nature calmed me, focused me, and yet excited my senses.”

― Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

After hiking in the woods, my 13 year old son remarked with a big smile;"I feel so good!" And I knew exactly what he meant. Not just because we had checked the box of exercising or the box of being away from technology; Our brains and bodies felt in-sync.

It was a hard hike, up a ridge, down, and up again. The air was dry, leaves on the trail were slippery, and the air was changing from warm summer to chilly autumn. We didn't bring water, and the hike took us much longer than expected. Yet, the group of teenagers I brought with me didn't complain. And as we wandered along, them in black skinny jeans and occasionally pausing for a selfie, all were different when we left the woods than when we went in. They were calmer, yet more aware, and it reminded me of that Richard Louv quote from above.

“Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our chidlren's health (and also, by the way, in our own).”
― Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

I am new to having teenagers. When they were younger, they desired to be outside and with the family as much as possible. Now, they hide away in their rooms, or seek out opportunities to be with friends, away from the family unit. Because I study child development, and because I remember being a teenager, I know this is normal. I have started inviting their friends to join us for a hike in the woods. Sometimes they groan, but they have yet to say no. And when we get there, they eagerly make their way along the path. I usually am far enough ahead to be out of ear shot, giving them the feeling of autonomy. They don't necessarily ask for this, but I find it a good practice, allowing them freedom to be themselves with their friends, without feeling like mom was ease dropping. The point is not to force them to be with me, but to give them time outside, moving, hiking, connecting with the natural world. Also, I enjoy a quiet hike where I can gather my thoughts. I always find that after we are outside doing something physical and enjoyable (not a chore), we are all nicer to each other.

So, time in nature, as Louv writes, is an investment in health. I see it as an investment in mental health, as well as physical health. We have to teach our children to not only take care of their bodies through physical activity, but also take care of their mental health, by introducing them to, and repeatedly doing, things that help condition the mind.

Education

2016-07-01T14:01:00.000-04:00

Education should be about allowing children to become who they were born to be. It should be about adults observing and listening to children to see what they care about, what they are interested in, what they are good at, and supporting them.

What education is about most of the time, is a group of adults who believe they need to fill a child up with information weather they like it or not. It is usually about some idea of what a child should become, who a child should be. It is usually about preparation, rather than being with the child in the here and now.

I believe that if you meet the child's needs where they are right now, you will prepare them for the future. No further preparation is needed.

Summer vacation!!!!!

2012-06-15T14:06:00.000-04:00

I LOVE summer vacation! The kids and I stay up late, sleep late, travel, and just hang out. It takes us a few weeks to get the hang of just hanging out. At first, the boys fight all day, having forgotten how to be around the house and each other. This week, they finally stopped fighting (not completely of course) and started truly enjoying each others company. They have been playing so nicely, they don't want to even leave the house. Which is what I like. Home all day.

We do slip out after quiet time to swim and the Y most days. Its just too hot and the outdoor pool just too refreshing and relaxing to not go.

I have been tending chickens (which just means watching them, there is really not that much to tend), gardening, and catching up on reading and knitting.

Our favorite new thing; a snow cone maker. We have experimented with making our own flavor syrups. We had a few batches that didn't turn out so great, so for now, we are using some we happened to have in the back of the pantry. YUM!

Now, its nap time.

right now

2012-05-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

Jeezs it's been a while. A lot has changed. We have settled into our home, our land, and I feel more settled that I ever have.

Right now, the dog is laying next to me and stinks. Have to remember to make an appointment for a bath for him next weekend. Atticus is taking a much needed Sunday afternoon nap. Papa and the older two boys went to swim in the creek.

I am thinking about all the things that have been keeping me so busy this first half of 2012.
Working hard at my teaching job. Tutoring after school. Little League. Play practice. Tumbling class for Atticus. Drum lessons for Dash. Yoga. Pilates. Chickens. Garden.

And a few links I am loving right now;

a church converted into a home

a blog dedicated to beautiful older women

A person who dislikes stupid people as much as I do, and has the ability to write about it with humor, then read it on NPR; David Sedaris

A vacation I dream of taking (with my sister and husband!)

Eclipse yoga

serpentine necklace

Nashville

Organic Dirt delivered for the organic garden!

Zucchini Flowers

Zucchini

Elias's view (neighbors land)

Me, helping out with baseball

Atticus, getting to help the team practice

Dash, ready to get out there

A new hobby?

serpentine

right now

2012-03-19T21:30:00.000-04:00

Right now I am enjoying the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen. The weather has been stormy, and there has been lots of rain, lots of clouds, and lots of color as the sun goes down.

I have actually gotten so side-tracked by these sunsets, that nobody is getting to bed on time. I leave the dinner dishes as I see the light change from our windows. They boys are equally excited by the colors, and gasp in awe as the rainbow of colors and light changes and slowly grows dark.

And here is Chance, the wonder dog, rolling in freshly seeded lawn.

He just couldnt stand to see nice black wet earth, and had to roll all over in it. And then, of course, run into the house and shake.

Rainbow after a storm

In chicken news, they little ones are having field trips out side. We have to get them ready to spend the whole day in the sun and wind, and they love to eat bugs and grass. They also are using their newly sprouted wings!

Our "big" girls are a blast. We have been hand feeding them their favorite weed. it looks like the top of carrots, and it must taste fabulous, because they cant get enough of it. fortunately, our lawn is mostly weeds, so they get a lot of variety.

March so far...

2012-03-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

February so far

2012-02-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Celebrating ten years of precious Elias

A ten year olds birthday

spring bulbs

Valentines cookies

Making valentines

Atticus cut out hearts and wrote his name all by himself

Elias folded 30 origami valentines

Bright colorful flowers in the middle of a dark, cold month.

a family under the rainbow (and a little rain falling too) by Atticus

scenes from home

2012-02-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

We have been busy since the move, and I have not been keeping up with the blog. That doesn't mean there hasn't been a lot happening around here.

Actually, it's the day-to-day stuff that I find fascinating right now. The small moments that I know I will forget when my children grow, and when the house is quieter.

I thought I would try to commit to a little more blogging, about that every day stuff.

We'll see if that happens...

A little weekend gaming for the big kids.

A night of homemade spa

Tea, back rubs, candles, fire in the fireplace

a new violin

Some silly time. Always silly time...

And a new cello!

Chore time. the ear protection is worn when he vacuums...

and plays the drums

Simple dinners and lunches, lost of bread, cheese and fruit.

Nobody complains.

Our new Sunday ritual of washing all the laundry and folding all of it, while watching a movie of course! Makes it a fun family event.

Playing dress up for real

A tennessee sunset

A progression of houses by Atticus

Lots of cuddling, maybe an illness or two...

It looked like a full moon tonight.

Smoke out of the neighbors chimney.

Why not sk8?

2012-01-16T16:54:00.000-05:00

It was a rather cold and rainy weekend. Lucky for us, my mom was visiting, so it was a little brighter.

One morning, they boys suggested we go roller skating.

It was so dark outside, we thought, why not?

Nothing says weekend like black lights and roller skates at 10am

Elias won the limbo contest, somehow he bends like a wet noodle, and is also graceful on skates.

Mom was very brave, as she donned skates and went around and around. Isn't that cool? They played Celebration, Hey Micky, and YMCA. It was crazy fun. Missed my sister, who would have pulled out some leg warmers and skated too...

loving these links

2012-01-08T14:22:00.000-05:00

baked potato soup; made this for lunch today. Added some lemon, crispy bacon, and sour cream. Oh yes I did.

good foods; A beautiful way to eat the rainbow and get back on track after the holidays

Small town is self-sufficient; a small town in England is trying to grow all their own foods.

another soup; heard this on the Splendid Table on NPR

inside a yogis fridge; Relieved to see a yoga superstar eats like a human

beautiful skin care products; beautiful.

6 january super foods; another good thing about the season

how to make a smelly dog smell better; Chance is so smelly from being out in the wild all the time.

The Nature in Me

2012-01-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

Something about getting moving in a nature setting does me so much good. My whole body tingles as my blood fills tiny little capillaries in my fingers and toes. Walking on a tread mill is good, but a hike through the woods or around a lake is better. Yoga actually does this for me too. I love moving. My body loves it. Sometimes, when I have been still for a long period of time, I forget how much I love moving, and think I could just sit forever. Then someone, maybe a child, maybe a hiking partner, maybe Mr.Sunshine, gets me up and going. Recently, we took a walk around Long Hunter State park outside of Nashville. My Dad was visiting and took these pictures. Thanks to him, you can see I exist. Unfortunately, you have to take my word for it that he exists.

My children love moving to, as most children do. And exploring, and doing exactly what they are asked and told not to do. Like walking in the mud. Dash went straight for the furthest, muddiest, part of the beach. And in less than a minute, he sunk into the mud, and was stuck. I hopped from rock to rock to help.

Dash told me quietly that he was very angry at himself, that he knew I had just said that if anyone gets muddy or wet we would have to leave.

I had such sympathy for him.

He was exploring,

never meant to get stuck.

I remembered a time my boot had been stuck in the mud,

and I had fallen into ice cold water,

and my brother had to carry me all the way home,

shivering.

And I remembered when my boot got stuck in the snow, and my sister and brother could't find it,

and I had to go home missing one boot.

My brother probably carried me then too.

We did not find it until the snow melted.

Elias helped Dash, instinct told him to go get Dash's boot, and help him put it on.

We moved on, and walked and enjoyed moments of quiet reflection.

Atticus had one "melt-down"

He warned me.

He said, "Mommy, I am melting"

He just couldn't go on. He wasn't tired. He just couldn't move one more step.

Dash immediately came to his side, just as he did when we

were hiking the in the Appalachian trail.

I don't know what he said or did, but somehow he got Atticus to keep going.

the day before the day

2012-01-02T07:43:00.000-05:00

I just can't believe that after 7 months of being a stay at home mom, tomorrow, I return to work. I am a mix of emotions. I like work, being with others, accomplishing something, earning money...and, I love staying at home, cleaning and organizing, quiet, cooking and baking, my own schedule.

sunlight streaming in the bedroom window

sunlight in the kitchen window

Chance in the sunlight

Atticus and Chance, good friends

Right now, I have the feeling that it will be good to be back to a schedule, good to walk my children into their classrooms where they so want to be, where they are so loved and taken care of by their teachers and classmates.

The boys made these photo collages of themselves

view from Elias's bedroom window

Dash and Atticus sitting by the fire

So, today I will spend getting ready for tomorrow. And hopefully the effects will be long-lasting.

2011-12-31T12:16:00.000-05:00

We were out in the woods for a while
yesterday. The boys have a fort, and they wanted Grandpa and I to see it. It is a magical place, where little boys imagine they are anywhere, and they can be anybody. It is where the children want to play for a very long time. It is the best place for them to play, unstructured, inhibited only by their own minds, and maybe sometimes, the weather. It is a crazy maze of trees and vines, thick enough for the boys to climb on them and swing on them.

A place where dreams and reality blur. An earthly and heavenly place where boys talk to things only they can see. Where trees and vines become buildings, ships, airplanes, castles, dragons, animals...

A place where they hardly notice the adults are there, but when they do notice us, they invite us into their world. It is a place I can remember from my childhood. I am just one step away from the magical land they live in. My boys take me there, all I have to do is take their hand and follow them.

inside and out

2011-12-26T09:18:00.000-05:00

inside

There was not as much holiday baking as last year, when I made the fabulous Buche de Noel, cookies, crescent rolls, etc. But, I did manage to squeak out a chocolate cake for our solstice celebration. Atticus may have helped...

It was dark and beautiful.

Elias has been busy. I don't think he left his room for two days, except to eat and use the bathroom.

He created little animals and characters and even invented a game to play with them.

I surprised everyone on Christmas eve with some peppermint bark

And of course there was music

Out

And I am dreaming of the summer garden. So much work to do in the spring. But, for now, I just observe my little piece of the world as winter unfolds.

Home

2011-12-20T18:30:00.000-05:00

On the trip home, Elias and Chance slept together. Chance needed a lot or extra attention, he was nervous. So was Elias. It made a perfect match. The first night in out "new" home, Chance slept next to Elias.

Although there were boxes to unpack, children also needed to be fed. Of course, oranges became orange peel boats, complete with candles...

Never a dull moment.

Slowly, our house became a home. The corners of the home being decorated with new lights,

The kitchen

For now, a rocking chair sits in the kitchen, and it is always being used.

These dark days, it is nice to have lots of candles at hand, and the kitchen is so cozy.

New and old chairs for the children to sit in and read, or play card games. Our rooms feel so big and the light so bright. I like our home better now than I ever did.

New canisters in the kitchen, new thoughts about how to organize, organize, and organize some more. No more baskets full of junk, no more things that do not have a place.

Pink lights because Wade and the boys think white is boring

And, because Christmas is almost upon us, before the last box has been unpacked, the lights had to go on the tree, and the fire lit...

And we can do that, because this is our home.

Friday Foto 12-16-12 and 1 day

2011-12-16T06:44:00.000-05:00

4 days. keeping it in perspective and remembering what is calling us home

2011-12-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

I woke up in a panic. Must get it all done, I can't believe its Wednesday already.
Then I calmed down, I have three whole days to get it all done. It is possible.

But I should get the oil changed.

And I should go hunt for some Christmas presents.

And Atticus needs a new coat, and the boys uniform pants.

But the house must get packed.

And there are still five people to feed and a dog to walk and dished to wash and children to clean. Or dishes to clean and children to wash.

Then I calmed down and went to make breakfast.

Wade was panicing. There is so much still to pack!
I assured him I have a plan. And I do. The non-essentials are all packed, today the coast and shoes we don't need for the next week, the clothes we don't need for the next week, all the laundry is to be done, some errands run.

Tomorrow, all the bedrooms finished, and the kitchen packed. Tomorrow night through sunday we will be eating out.

That is my least favorite part, packing up the kitchen and not cooking good healthy food, but eating out and not really knowing what is in the food we are eating.

To keep things in perspective and remember what is calling us home;

5 days

2011-12-13T12:08:00.000-05:00

5 days until we move.
I have lost the camera somewhere amid the boxes, but did manage to take a photo of this before I lost it;

Elias has been struggling to learn long division. Yesterday he forgot his homework, but still wanted to do math, his "favorite subject". So, he asked me to go over long division. We tried this at the beginning of the school year, and he struggled. Last night, he got it.
And he wanted me to make up a lot of challenging problems.
When he woke up this morning, he started immediately, and did the problems all by himself.
Then Dash wanted to do some, and he is learning long multiplication.
So there they sat, in the dark, writing on the chalkboard doing long math problems, because they love it.
That's what's cool, they want to do it. This is not worksheets and tests that they dread doing, but the challenging of figuring out problems. Its like they felt their brains grow.

Now, as far as getting them to do their actual homework, the worksheets, that's not so easy. This is when I see alternative education working for kids, the kind that lets them explore what they are excited and passionate about at that moment. When you are not ready for a subject, but it says you are supposed to learn it on the schedule set by the department of Education, or the school administrator or even the teacher, it does not work. No matter how hard you push, you just cant get a kid to understand a subject if they are not ready. And if you miss that golden moment when kids are ready to learn the subject, then they may never get it. You have to pay attention to the child. Observe them, their interests. This is what a Montessori teacher is supposed to do. As long as the teacher can follow the child, this works. Problem is, sometimes you get parents and administrators that want to push the child, they want to brag about how smart the child is, how advanced they are. (If you are a Waldorf grades teacher, tell me, how does it work?)

Oh, should I be going on about education right now? Am I using my blog to procrastinate? I guess maybe. I guess I should clean up the breakfast dishes and take a nap, then get started. There is a lot to do...

A Break From Packing

2011-12-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

Back a few months ago, I bought 5 tickets to Mt.Vernon, the home of George Washington. We hadn't used them, and since we are moving next Saturday, it was use it or lose it time.

Atticus and I were raring to go, but Dash, Elias, and Wade were tired and wanted to stay home.

I was talked into postponing the trip from Saturday to Sunday,

but when they still didn't want to go on Sunday, I got a little ticked, and threw a tantrum,

and Wade jumped up and got everyone in the car.

Turned out, it was pretty cool.

They had christmas trees in the first building, and I like this one because it was decorated with

books. Atticus pulled a feather off, and asked why there were feathers on the book tree.

Um, your guess is as good as mine.

The temperature was at freezing, and the children and I were cold. It was warm in this tent though, where they were making chocolate! We got to taste a chocolate stick. It was like very dark chocolate with cocoa a powder coating. ummmm. They told us how long it took the slaves to make chocolate, and then how it was used to make hot chocolate. Martha Washington loved her morning hot chocolate. BUT, they never gave it to children because it was too stimulating! All that caffein and sugar...

The day was beautiful, and so was the land.

The sun shone through the arches

After touring the mansion, we went out back to see the view of the Potomac. The boys were so happy to run around here, after standing an listening to all the talk about old stuff in the mansion.

We walked around the grounds, and they were just beautiful.

Lots of paths and secret little places. I was moved to think about Washington and his family and the slaves that walked around these same parts.

This is where Washington had his fields of wheat and his garden. Of course, the slaves probably tended it, not him. He was passionate about the land though, and still they keep the crop rotation he created, and plough lots of fertilizer made from manure into the ground. You can smell that they do that. At the end of the field is a house where the wheat was separated from the shaft.

A long walk in the woods

Animals like sheep

A camel!

a hog

The mansion

6 days

2011-12-12T11:40:00.000-05:00

There are five days left until the moving van comes.

Six days until we start our drive back to Tennessee.

Even though we all want this move

Even though we can't wait to be home

Even though we are returning to friends who can't wait to see us

and we can't wait to see them

Even though we are moving closer to family

Even though we are taking steps closer to our dreams

Even though I will return to my garden

Moving is still hard.

We are all having strong emotional reactions to this move.

The children, each in his own way, is dealing with seeing their things packed away in boxes.

Nothing is where it used to be. Everything is out, exposed, chaotic, disorganized.

We all want to move, but it is still emotional to pack up.

Elias is a nester, and he loves his "stuff" more than anyone in the family.

He spends hours in his room, with all his stuff set out around him.

Playing, building, imagining.

And, he is not liking this packing his stuff away.

He is getting angry, talking disrespectfully to me.

I grounded him for the first time.

He has been naughty, and I have been hard on him.

Maybe too hard, considering.

Atticus cried when I told him the art table was not coming with us.

"It is too small, we need a new one, for a big boy." I said, hoping to comfort him.

"Can it have the same kind of drawers?" He asks, through tears.

What should I say?

I didn't expect him to start to cry,

to have this emotional connection to his table.

His little table. Where he played almost every day since we have been here.

Where he made me play clay pancakes.

Memories are all tied up in "stuff".

Can we keep the memories, and lose the stuff?

It's hard.

Atticus and Dash pulled their tool box out to help with the pulling of nails and unscrewing of screws.

That brought them more joy and squeals of laughter than Wade and I expected.

There are some fun parts of moving too.

And going through stuff and getting clearing our is so so good. It is crazy how much we have to get ride of after only 6 months of doing the same thing!

But, what do you do with clothes that don't really fit any child right now? Will it ever fit Atticus and his skinny waist? Is it worth keeping, with the hopes Atticus will be able to wear it someday?

Do you carry around clothes that someone gave you that are too big for the big boys?

That will take them years to grow into?

Where do you store this, and how? What if when they fit into it, it is the wrong season?

Dash has been working on a play with his class about Isis and Osiris. They will be preforming it the 20 of Dec. Dash asked if we could stay and move the 21st.

Poor guy. All I can do is be honest, and help them learn to handle these emotions.

Hopefully, this is the last move. And, we will all be stronger because of it.

We had some really nice times here. I love Washington DC.

We will remember it fondly.