There's a lot of politics to write about, but for now, I'm going to write about the weather and family.
It's a crazy time of year. A wonderful, crazy, upside-down time of year.
First, the weather.
As these photos show, Easter took place last week in a weird combination of snow and warmth and cold and bare ground. 
The kids hunted for eggs in all manner of clothing, from flip-flops on my daughter's feet, to a ski-jackets on my oldest son and a fleece on my youngest son. 
The day before Easter, I went for a long run (for me....50 minutes) with my gore-tex jacket tied around me, gloves, and a hat in an ever-changing landscape of snow, slush, bare ground, wind, and sun.
And then this. 
Yesterday, I went outside to cook dinner on the deck on a lovely evening with temps in the 50s and the snow nearly all gone.
24 hours later, we're facing freezing temps and 4+ inches of snow, slush, and sleet. We could have gotten 10+ inches of snow, and my guess is that NH and VT towns less than 20 miles north of Lyme, NH, got that kind of coverage.
More of the same is predicted for Monday. Welcome to Mud Season!
And then this for family: this week featured student-led conferences at the Lyme School, and aside from the particulars associated with each of our wonderful children, I was struck (horribly) with the fact that they are....growing up!
Just a few short years ago, we had the modest of conferences, with a modicum of initiative and curriculum discussed at each meeting. Now, with a 1st, 4th, and 6th grader, we are getting real content, thoughtfulness, and issues to consider.
Oh, this is not news?
Of course it's news. I don't care how often you've gotten the advanced warning -- "your kids will grow up in a flash," etc. -- when it happens, you are surprised. Shocked. Saddened. And Stunned.
How did this happen? Who let them become so articulate? So certain of themselves? Is this OK?
Suddenly (or so it seems), our dinner conversations have a new flavor. There's more spice in the stew (irony, sarcasm, insight, uncertainity, and ambiguity). It's a conversation less directed on the part of the parents, and increasingly a meal that has five co-equal participants. Don't be fooled: we're still in charge......but you can feel the change underneath our feet. It's a harbinger of the next 5-10 years (or maybe longer).
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