Living in History

Pierre's grandmother is 86, about 4'10" and just as feisty as ever. Aragorn is almost twelve and fascinated by WWII history. When he realized that his tiny great-grandmother once lived through the Nazi occupation, in a house occupied by German officers, and rode her bike through the very woods we're living next to in order to smuggle food through enemy lines to her family, he was agog. On every beach along the ocean front here are German blockhauses built to keep watch for invasions from abroad. Some day we will show them other landmarks in the villages around, but those lessons can wait.

Visiting chateaux, exploring traditional farmhouses, seeing first-hand the destruction caused by last year's giant storm here, all are ways of creating connections that are making history come alive for kids. My hope is that those inklings of past errors will create children who read more history. I hope it makes more responsible citizens for tomorrow, that they will not chose or need to make the same mistakes. I also hope to create pride in their family history and see the paths (many times difficult) taken and the choices made that led to them being alive today. Yes, and world peace too, thank you.