Carolyn, being the insensitive parent, laughed hysterically from her study window as she watched Adelyn head down the driveway with her luggage. I was the the thoughtful parent and ran to get my trusty Treo to record a few moments from Sam’s bedroom window.

You’ll notice that she got as far as the end of the driveway before she stopped, frozen in thought. I’m sure there was a holy hush outside as creation stilled itself for this solemn second-grader in her flight for freedom. Inside the house, however, Carolyn cackled like a banshee, and the Treo clicked away.

After a few moments, she headed south. Down the side of the house to the patio. It was there that she set down her things, pulled a picture of the family that she’d packed in her luggage and placed it carefully on the patio table. Our cat, Smokey, dutifully guarded the thoughts of the-one-who-would-be-big.