No School

Why doesn't Grace have school today? The calendar doesn't say anything but "No School"...

Anyway, there was a Daisy Scout field trip today. Great. What am I supposed to do with my other children? All of the other moms have either: #1 older kids who can stay home or participate in the activities, #2 only children or #3 full time babysitting readily available with only a days notice. So... my friend Allison (mom to G's best friend, Abby and another Daisy mom) gratiously offered to take G too. What a relief! G still gets to participate while the little two and I can meet up with them after their field trip.

So, where are they going? The Radcliff Challenger Learning Center. WHAT?!? There is a NASA-type (not sponsored by NASA) Challenger Learning Center in Radcliff, KY?!? I want to go! I read up on who they are, etc --

On January 28, 1986, the world watched in horror as the space shuttle Challenger exploded in mid-air just 73 seconds after lift off. This mission was a history making educational program that hoped to take Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from New Hampshire, into space with the 51-L crew. McAuliffe would be teaching science lessons from space to students here on earth.
Dedicated to the educational spirit of that mission, Challenger Center programs continue the crew's mission of engaging students in science, math and technology and foster in them an interest to pursue careers in those fields. Primarily the Challenger Learning Center of Hardin County programs are targeted toward the middle school students, but due to the effectiveness of the entire program and the increased interest in space, missions are just as exciting for the upper grades and adults.

The Challenger Learning Center of Hardin County is a part of a growing network of centers worldwide that are being established by the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in memory of the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger. Founded by the families and friends of the lost seven shuttle astronauts, this agency continues the Challenger crew's educational mission to teach, to explore and to inspire.

Funny thing... I can't remember hardly anything before the car crash of the summer before. Can't remember the old house, moving, anything. But this, I remember... It is my first 'real' memory. Well, this and when mom & dad said we were going to have a baby :-)

I was in the 2nd grade and we were all watching the take off on TV. Right after the explosion, everything was eerily quiet for a while - on TV, in the school, everywhere. It was like the whole world was holding its breath waiting for something to come out of the smoke. I can almost pinpoint where in the classroom I was sitting. The TV was turned off and Mr Liles's voice came across the PA system saying that he didn't know what happened and he would keep watching and let us know. They didn't say anything else about it that day.

I always thought of this event as the Generation X-er's JFK and MLK,Jr's Assassinations of my mom's generation(Baby Boomers) or the D-Day of my grandparents' day (the Silent Generation). The event that you always will remember where you were when you saw (or heard in the D-Day case) the news...

But we've already seen the Generation Y's (also called the Millenium Generation - which is what I looked up but couldn't find anything about that name) event too... September 11th, 2001. I wonder what the event will be for the Global Generation (I had to look this up -- didn't know what came next). I hope it is something good, something that my kids can smile about when they think about it. Historically speaking, that is extremely optimistic.