I went out the other night with a bunch of moms who have children in their senior year of high school. Once the kids are into college, high school is done and the kids basically have a great six months. Daniel told me during his freshman year in college that he did not understand why everyone thought college was so great - in his last year of high school there was no responsibility, some interesting classes, and lots of time to hang out with your buddies - plus the the home cooking was excellent, and the laundry was done for you. What could be better?
After Joseph got into Amherst in December he pushed himself even harder at swimming. That spring he had to write a paper or do an internship after the AP's were over because there were no more classes for the month. I remember coming in to the kitchen one morning to get breakfast, and Joseph was hanging out getting ready for a late day at the Prep. He told me that he wanted to write his senior paper on the influence of politics during the Romantic era on the composers of the time. I just looked at him, sputtered out that that would be a great idea (it would certainly keep him busy for the next month) - and went to work. Some kids have big plans and ideas!
