About a year ago, I had a soon-to-be-sixth-grader in the backseat of my car. She was a year older than my own daughter and the two had been off-and-on friends for years. Mostly on. I think. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. After all, a one-year difference in age can sometimes be like a lifetime for kids. Not to mention the fact that it can be hard for a parent to gauge just who is friends with who when it comes to kids who are in a different grade or a different class. It was late, after a soccer practice most likely, and our visitor said something I’ll probably remember for a long time. “I don’t…

My daughter got off the bus last Monday with a smile on her face. I don’t know why she was grinning, but as a dad I’d like to think it was because she was relieved to finally be back at school. After a month of early closings and school cancelations, it was a relief for me as well. But as we walked back to the house she said “everyone says there’s no school tomorrow. It’s going to snow.” I stopped and replied “There better be. Or else.” Fortunately for everyone involved, there was school (there was however a slight scare as we stood at the bus stop until well after 9 a.m. waiting to be picked…