This is the first year we are not at MIT ESP Splash in Cambridge Massachusetts.
Last year after the move to Houston we flew back east to attend. Airfare was too expensive this year to justify the entire family going, or even just one parent. Hotels in Boston are pricey also, as are the restaurants. It is hard to get around without a rental car. All those things add up. We had a big expense with buying a home in Texas. Plus, the kids are too involved in their sport team and paid academic classes to take the break.
A chapter in our lives has closed. Today was a regular old Saturday for us. At about one this afternoon it struck me that today was MIT Splash and we were not there. Some of our friends who usually attend did not attend this year out of busy-ness with their regular homeschool academics and extracurriculars. I felt a pang of disappointment as I recalled the fun times my kids have had in Cambridge and Boston on MIT Splash weekends. And it is still going on without us. As I write this thousands of middle and high school students are having a blast on the MIT campus learning and having fun. But for us it's a regular Saturday in Houston.
Life happens. Circumstances change. Paths change. Chapters close and the next chapter opens. That's life.