What you don't learn in school

Guess which one is for Nana. (the heart shaped rock)

Wednesday there was no school.  No rushing around, no homework, no hot asphalt to line up on.   I took the kids to Leo Carillo State Park which is a little farther than where we usually go, because it has tide pools.  A place where we could wear our Keene's (thanks Dad!) and walk in the ocean and find starfish, tons of crabs, and a weird pink cucumber kinda thing.  A place where the girls flew little kites on their own for an hour and a half, engaging only with the wind.
No pencils, no paper, and no schedules, except for the tide.
We stopped by Nana's on our way.  We woke her up, kissed her and told her we were going to the beach.  We told her what we were bringing and that we wished she could go with us.  Peggy responded, with an occasional yes, and a smile.  We put her beach wave music on her ipod and the girls hugged her.  Gidget told her we would bring her back a beautiful shell.  They looked all day for a perfect one for her.    Empathy, compassion and thoughtfulness are just a few of the things  the girls learned on this bright and lovely, windy day off from school.

I feel that we have all learned a lot from Peggy, we have studied, we have been tested and we are  ready to graduate.
Please, we don't want need to go to graduate school.