Back some time last fall, a group of parents and kids met at the front steps of Grace Garden to take a picture and make a donation. Half of these kids are high school juniors. The other half are 8th graders. More than a decade ago they used to walk up these steps every morning and through the doors behind them into a world of love and caring and friends and fun and teachers and learning.
Coincidentally or through some Bene Gesserit-ship, the older kids from the fours families are the same age (Vivian and one of the tall boys in the back were born a day apart), as are the younger kids. The families have travelled, hiked, camped, dined, and hung out together through the years. There is zero overlap in the schools these kids attend and perhaps because of that the kids aren’t close. But they all know each other well and are happy to chill together when they are thrown into the same physical space.
A few weeks after this photo op, I went for a friend’s birthday party to Thailand. I’ve known Sharath since the beginning to time. Vivian went with me. I think she appreciated the bonds between old friends. May be some of these people will visit each other in a few decades. Wouldn’t that be something?
Notes from Dad 