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We're headed to Boston for the day!


We just finished listening to EB White's The Trumpet of the Swan and we've also been reading through Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. Both of these celebrated children's books are associated with Boston's Public Garden and they both mention the Swan Boats there, specifically.


So, Dwayne took the day off of work and I've packed a cooler and a picnic basket. We will drive into the city early and park right across the street from the Boston Common. We will stroll through the park and see all of the noteworthy sites, including the Make Way for Ducklings statue.

After we finish our stroll, we plan to have a picnic under one of the giant willow trees and take Norah on the swan boats and feed the ducks. Then, we'll walk over to the Frog Pond on the Boston Common and let the girls play in the water until they get tired. And, finally, we plan to go to Chipotle's, one of our favorite restaurants, before we drive home in the evening.

You won't believe me when I tell you (I hardly believe it myself). But, when I checked these books out of the library over a week ago, I did not know anything about what was in them or that both of them were associated with the Public Garden. I wasn't even planning to take a trip to Boston.

But, as we were listening to EB White's beautiful description of the Public Garden and the Swan Boat rides, I thought it would be nice to go for a visit and let Norah ride them. So, I sat down one evening to look up information about the Public Garden and noticed, to my delight, that the book "Make Way for Ducklings" was mentioned in the park's information. I immediately called to Norah and had her take the book off the shelf for the first time since we brought it home from the library. We read through it then and you can imagine my surprise when I saw that the story was set in the very place that I was just then planning to visit!

You may call this kind of thing coincidence, but I call it providence! I was only planning to check out The Trumpet of the Swan, in the first place, but as we were leaving the children's section of our library, Make Way for Ducklings caught my eye. It was in a crate right by the door. I thought to myself, "That books on the 'Five in a Row' reading list and it's a medal winner. It's got to be good." So, I grabbed it and just threw it in my bag.

But now I'm convinced that God guided me to get both books, smiling to Himself the whole time, knowing what I'd soon discover that they had in common. He is unfailingly kind to me in little ways like this and He always makes my life a whole lot of fun.

I am thankful to be taking this trip. I am so excited to share this beautiful place with my family. It makes me feel like a kid again myself! I'll post pictures of our trip in a day or two.

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