Dropped Dana off at the temple. I was so proud of the way she walked up the driveway and went inside by herself. I remembered to tell her to turn her cellphone off. We attended a funeral recently, and during the eulogy, someone's phone rang. It was a difficult moment.

Danita, if I do get the travel/homeschooling article out of my head and onto the keyboard, perhaps I could interview you? This article would need anecdotes of how real homeschooling families use travel as a teachng tool, and you have some marvelous examples (and that infectious enthusiasm).

For years, I brought slides and travel tales into my kids' public school classrooms. We traveled to places like China, England, Greece, Mexico, Peru and Kenya. I'd choose about 10 slides, each of which had a variety of different cultural "messages" to look for: "What do you notice about the clothing/houses/weather/food, etc... in this picture?" We had great discussions. I'd bring handouts with a map of the country, a list of "10 Things We Learned About ____ Today," and a sheet showing how to say hello, goodbye, please and thank-you in the country's language.

The kids loved these presentations, and I was invited back every year until my kids hit the grades where all the teachers' and students' time is focused on preparing for standardized tests. (In Massachusetts it's the MCAS. Next week is test week.)

I have a shoebox filled with thank-you notes from the kids. I'll treasure them always. One of my favorites is from Ryan, a second-grader, who wrote, "Dear Mrs. Hein: Thank you for teaching us about Peru. Now I really want to go see Andy's mountains."