The kids were awful tonight, insanely awful. They screamed. They hit. They swung beaded necklaces in large arcs until they broke. Then they screamed and hit some more. I was on my own and had an extra kid to boot. So, after several time-outs, I announced we were going for a night walk. David was shocked. It's dark! It's night time!

I gave everyone a flashlight, including the very cool head lamp, and joy reigned. We saw the brilliant half moon and the North star and Orion. We discovered that streets signs glowed when you shone a flashlight on them and so did parked cars. We ran down the sidewalk and discovered mysteries never before seen--a smiling rock, a branch in bloom. We ventured into the deepest darkest backyard and made our way safely over the rough and tumble bricks. We breathed in the night air and the space, and we felt better.