If I was not sure before, I am now. Our trip to Washington, D.C. has proven it to me once again. I prefer having older children.

Traveling is so much easier. I no longer worry at airports that we will end up scattered all over the plane or that some man will look at me in disgust as my toddler wiggles and cries. Each family member can take care of himself or herself long enough to complete a flight. We can even manage most emergencies. Kat has more first aid training than Mr. Philately although he plans to take a class with Day-Hay this fall.

Older children can share so much more. �Oh, this city is just so historical,� gushed Day-Hay right outside the White House---and the trip seemed worth it just for that sentiment alone. Side by side she and I read each inscription at Freedom Plaza and the Gettysburg Address at the Lincoln Memorial.

Even the games my family plays are more interesting. Mr. Philately and I love word games and often banter playfully. Nowadays the girls often join us in the banter. When they don�t join in, they make an appreciative audience for the good one-liners.

I�m not a pack-horse anymore either. Once in a while, I will very generously agree to hold a camera but I longer feel obligated to do so. Holding things is a gift, not a necessity.

The girls are beginning to go off and leave me and that�s bittersweet. They disappear with friends overnight and, occasionally, for a whole weekend. Day-Hay will go away to overnight camp twice for a week at a time this summer and Kat will have almost a month at overnight camp. We�ll even be childless for a week this summer. Paradoxically, just as I�ve always felt most free to adventure when firmly rooted at home, I feel most free to love when less overwhelmingly needed.

It�s such a joy to have older children.

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