Guest post from my wife Judy wrote this 17 years ago; the advice is still on point. Enjoy. In my experience, international travel has always brought out the very best in my kids.  Sure, at home I have days where I can't imagine even taking them around the corner to the local park, but put them in another country and watch them rise to the occasion.  Since we have traveled to some pretty far-flung destinations with our three children, starting as early as two years old, I wanted to add a few thoughts: 1. If you can, involve the kids in pre-trip planning. Get them to help you look through websites, picture books, and field guides to learn what you…

Living here in the lowcountry, the tides affect our daily life in ways we didn’t understand when we lived in Northern Virginia. Twice a day the tides expose the mudflats and fill the marsh, providing a natural rhythm to the days. Caused by the lunar cycle, the moon’s gravity literally pulls the water in and later out of our marshes, exposing fiddler crabs and sandbars. We expect high tides this weekend with a full moon.  Tides in our area usually go up and down about 6 feet twice a day, but they can move as much as 8 feet in their normal monthly rhythms. The high-highs and low-lows have increased since we moved to the area,  increasing with climate change.…

It's been a long year.  We all got behind on something -- lots of things! So today is the day we're going to catch up.  We're going to  update our To Do List so it actually reflects what we need to do when clear the stack of old projects off our desk start investing for the future empty our our 5 email inboxes call our college friends to catch up hang up-to-date photos of our family finally start to (re)learn Spanish And on and on.  The List Can Be Overwhelming Whole books have been written on how to get things done, how to prioritize.  Some of them are great -- the website Develop Good Habits list 27! such books.  Some of…