Once upon a time, when our family was almost new, Soe Woe and I went to pick up Hannah and Emi from their school, the Equinox School, up in Dorset Hollow in Southern Vermont. The school was started by a handful of parents who were looking for something exceptional for our children. We found it on our back doorstep, among our own friends, with the leadership of Ron Reuben, headmaster extraordinaire. We loved all the teachers. We loved the daily ebb and flow of the teaching program. We absogoshdarnlutely loved each other. Soe couldn't wait to join the gang in the following school year. She couldn't wait to learn those circle song-games like "Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow", and "Go In and Out The Windows". Dawn Pliner, the mother of her very mostest best friend, Aura~Joy, would be her Kindergarten teacher. And then, just like that, we were gone. Gone from all that we held near and dear. Sadly, we took all the sheep up to live with the John Thorssin family up in the Hollow. We packed up our meagre belongings in the U~Haul, and we were gone. Goodbye house and barn. Goodbye dear ones. Goodbye Equinox School. Goodbye Mach's Market. Goodbye Mill Pond and ducks.
Hello Boothbay Harbour, hello home-schooling, hello new world and new friends...but the sadness of leaving Vermont is engraven on our hearts forever. It was April 17th 1985: Soe's 5th birthday...
