Frazzled Reflections

As we stood in line at the George Spangler Farm in Gettysburg National Battlefield Park we listened to a local volunteer talk about giving tours to buses of school children during the month of May. About these children he said: "Many of these kids don't even know when the Civil War happened. They think that it happened in the 20th century, not as long ago as the 19th century. But they leave here interested and asking questions." I guess this paraphrased comment brings up a couple important points. One, depending on their age, kids have no concept of time. But that's just something that I know and realize as both a mom of a four and two-year-old and as a teacher of high school students who are just starting to realize time. And for me it is hard to remember that the older I get, the more likely it is that my students were either not alive when something happened or don't remember when something happened because they were too young at the time. In fact, when we ...

My first real impression of reenactments came from Hollywood. Remember that scene in Sweet Home Alabama when Reese is walking across a chaotic field to find her father and then admit to her fiance who she really is and where she really came from? Yeah, that was my first impression. Keep that in mind as I tell you about yesterday. It was a mostly lazy morning, but much to my husband's chagrin, I was still up and making bacon and eggs (my favorite camping breakfast) at 8 AM. Yesterday I wanted to go shopping and walking downtown while I wasn't dead on my feet from a long, hot bike ride and then go to the Eisenhower National Historical Site. Jeff wanted to go to the super huge reenactment they have had going all week and had no interest in Eisenhower. We compromised. I gave up my stamp and he went shopping and walking with me. It was fun to talk up the main drag in Gettysburg. While the shops are definitely there with tourists in mind, they have worked to maintain ...

Sixteen years ago I was introduced to a boy who asked me to attend the fireworks with him on the Fourth of July. We went to the beach on that cold Fourth, got separated just in time for the fireworks, and spent the next two hours walking up and down the beach waiting for the traffic to disappear so that he could take me home. We listened to the Eagles, laughed, he frightened me a little with his ridiculous knowledge of fireworks, and we dated the rest of the summer until we both headed off for college. It took a year for me to fall in love with him despite my best intentions not to, and two more years before I decided that he was definitely the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but after eleven and half years of marriage I can see no more fitting date for our first date anniversary than the Fourth of July. You see, my husband is a lot of things, and there are many things about him that lurk beneath the surface. Only those who really know him know how freaky smart he is,...