April 19, 2004 - 8:19 p.m.

One Down. Three To Go.

The first day of the kids' school vacation (meaning 11.5 hour work days for me) passed with flying colors. Since it's Patriots' Day, and we live in an area that was hugely important in the Revolutionary War. I decided that it was time the kids and I buffed up our history knowledge. We went to the parade in Concord, which was pretty cool. It was fun to see all the period costumes, hear the fife and drum groups, and actually be patriotic on Patriots' Day. The kids and I had some good conversations about why the war was fought and how different the lives of the early American's were from ours. Those conversations continued at the Concord Museum, where we got a more in-depth look at colonial life and the fight for independence. They had a ton of great, hands-on activities which kept even B engaged. There was a scavenger hunt to spot items in the galleries, craft projects, and demonstrations of things like basket weaving and scrimshaw carving.

During the parade, I could tell that I am PMSing, when I got a little teary-eyed watching the various groups of soldiers and veterans march by. I couldn't really peg what triggered my emotional response. It was certainly partly due to hormones, but I think it also had to do with a bit of introspective recognition that I don't actively appreciate this country's history or its soldiers often enough. I take my freedom for granted most of the time. Also, I think I was feeling a bit nostalgic for the somewhat more straightforward cause of the Revolutionary War as compared to the current conflict in Iraq. I know that both wars had/have all kinds of complicating factors, but fighting to defend one's home, family, and personal rights is a lot more clear cut than traveling across oceans and continents to oust a dictator for a population that may or may not be grateful. Yeah, I am an idealist, and I want all our fights to be "the good fight." So something in that muddle of thoughts brought tears to my eyes as I watched the parade. Silly, huh?

Anyway, after the museum, we walked back to the car and had a picnic lunch at the playground nearby. Then the kids spent an hour or so playing, while I soaked up the sun and watched. It was only at the end of the day, back at home, that I realized I had soaked up a little too much sun. The kids and I all got a little pink - mostly me. It was just so nice to have warm (near 80 degrees) weather and a nice breeze, that I wasn't thinking about the consequences of being in the sun for so long.

We finally got home around 4PM and almost immediately went back outside. After all the walking and playing earlier in the day, we were a bit more subdued, though. H read in the hammock - she just started in on the Lemony Snicket books. B and I had a little batting practice and played fetch with the dog. And M worked on the Narnia inspired story she is writing. It was a nice calm end to a fun, but busy, day.

Tomorrow we take on the zoo! It is supposed to be sunny again, but not as hot. So, it should be a great day for animal watching. As any regular reader of this journal would know, I am very much looking forward to the outing. Maybe it will be enough fun to prepare me for the distress that is likely to ensue when I have to enforce the kids' mom's dictate that the girls have to clean/organize their rooms later this week. That I am not looking forward to.

By the way, the evil cold from hell that had me mostly bedridden this weekend is almost gone. My energy level is still not quite back to normal, but other than that and the occasional hacking cough, I am fine. Apparently the ferocity of the cold was balanced by brevity. Thank goodness!

today's project: history lesson

Did you know? 16 was the age at which boys were allowed to start carrying muskets in the Revolutionary army

consecutive workout days: hard to say... I went rollerblading yesterday and did a LOT of walking today.

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flutter back - fly ahead