For Connie’s fifth birthday, among other things, she got a Strawberry Shortcake doll, a sleeping bag, and chicken pox. Her face looked like a speckled egg, but she grinned from ear to ear over her gifts. Chickenpox didn’t seem to bother her that much. However, before she broke out, she didn’t feel good and was running a fever. It happened to be a day when we were visiting family. She sat in my sister-in-law’s lap and Nan said the chickenpox Connie gave her almost did her in. It pays to get them out of the way when you're a kid.

Don’s friend David from his old school, talked him into wanting to go to boarding academy in north Arkansas for his junior year in high school. A straight shot from New Orleans to that school was right at 600 miles, and I wasn’t convinced I could trust him down the block. My first reaction was “No way!”  The Church district paired Louisiana with Arkansas, and New Orleans and the church’s Academy couldn’t have been more widely separated. There was a much closer school but it was in Mississippi and was paired with Alabama. The churches encouraged parents to support their own district. It took both David’s parents and the pastor to argue their case and finally get us to agree against our better judgment.

That year for family vacation, Arkansas was the obvious choice. We combined it with a camping trip. We’d been to Arkansas before and we loved the Ozarks. They aren’t as hazy as the Smokies or as rugged as the Rockies, but they’re green and peaceful. The streams trickling down over the rocks make a charming sound that blends well with all the many song birds. We’d been to Hot Springs several times and always enjoyed going to the auction houses and to the lakes in the area.

Years ago, when we couldn’t afford vacations, we took two trips to Hot Springs on different years because a real estate developer was willing to pay for your vacation if you’d agree to spend a half a day listening to them try to hypnotize you into buying property there. They had a well trained sales staff, and we almost gave in one year. It might have been a good investment, but it was a long way from home. Companies started selling vacation time shares using the same tactics of giving away trips and other freebies. Those were something we soon learned to avoid like the plague.

On this trip, we went further north and spent a couple of nights at a Yogi Bear campground which had outdoor movies, hay rides and other adventures for kids. We visited a heritage site where Connie freaked out over a cave we went in, and we visited the Pea Ridge Battlefield. Later we went to see Christ of the Ozarks and a Passion Play. We also went to Branson, Missouri. It was just starting to develop as a Country Music site that attempts to rival Nashville.

The last thing we did was to drop Don off at the school. I spent a lot of time with him making sure he understood what classes he needed to take in order to be able to go to college. I thought we had it all worked out. I should have known better.

He found some friends he knew from home and got to meet his roommate and from that point on we were ignored. He was excited to be on his own for the first time in his life and ready for his family to disappear. Christi was sad to be losing her twin, but she didn’t seem anxious to leave home.

Once we got back home, it was time for school to start again there as well. Since Connie was five, she would be going to kindergarten for a half a day and would need to ride a bus to school and back. I took her the first day and got her registered. I met the mother of another little girl Connie’s age who lived just three doors down from us. I was concerned about not having anyone home when Connie would be getting off the bus. The neighbor lady, whose name was Lisa, told me about her next-door neighbor who had a little girl one year younger. She suggested this neighbor might be able to keep Connie until my girls got home. She introduced me to Dianne and she said she'd be happy to take care of Connie. It was a perfect arrangement for me. Connie got to be friends with both of these ladies’ daughters, Jennifer and Lesley. After Connie got to know them, I almost had to drag her away. She thought Miss Diane was wonderful, and I think she would have moved in with them, if possible. Diane and I got to be good friends and we’re still in contact even now.

We talked to Don by phone to see how things were going in Arkansas. He liked his roommate, Lowell, who was from Arkansas. They were getting along great, and he really liked the school. I was happy until I learned that he had completely changed his schedule we had worked out and now he was taking a bunch of fun elective courses that would not help him to get into college at all. His excuse was he had to change the courses because the times interfered with his work schedule. This was a school where students were expected to have jobs around the campus that helped with tuition. He had met his supervisor and was pleased with the job he had been assigned.

He was so far away for home there wasn’t much I could do except to stew about it. In a month the school would have a long break and there was a bus that would bring the Louisiana students home and then return them to the school. Break time came, and guess who missed the bus.

Don was on the phone in a panic. He really did want to have his break at home since everyone was leaving for a few days. In spite of getting us upset, it worked out well. The bus driver was responsible for making sure all the students were there. He’d called the roll but somehow, he did not realize Don hadn’t answered when his name was called. The school admitted their mistake and put him on a plane. He actually managed to make it home several hours before the bus arrived and have his first plane ride as well.