And earlier this week, I told him about all the boats I have owned.

First, in the 60's there was Mishoon, an 11 foot green Fiberglas canoe. There were good times on Stump Pond and the Wood River with Mishoon.

Then in the 70's there was Dry Rot, a yellow 14 foot Blue Jay. I'm a cruiser and Blue Jays are not good cruisers.

Then in the 80's there was Footloose, an Islander 26. No headroom! followed by Josephine, an Irwin 30' Citation. The Josephine traveled from the Penobscot to Deering Harbor, she circumnavigated Cape Cod, and spent many evenings anchored off Fogland Point in the Sakonnet River.

Finally in the 90's there was Sophie Ruth, a brand new Pearson 33 bankruptcy auction purchase. She was slower than expected, possibly due to discount sails, but very comfortable. I courted Sarah on the Sophie Ruth and then sold her when the boys came along. Maybe I'll buy her back!

It takes 18 minutes to drive from our house to Skipper's new school. We have different sorts of conversations on the way. Today I told him about the different cars I have owned.

* A white 1962 Fiat 1200 Spyder convertible. My uncle gave it to me in 1967, and I sold it a year or so later when I went off to college. The engine block cracked a month later.

* A new mustard colored 1971 Ford Pinto. I drove it across the country and back.

* A new brown 1974 Ford Pinto. This was the worst car I ever owned.

* A new off white 1978 Subaru. This was a good car but blew up on I-95 when I forgot to check the oil.

* A new maroon 1982 VW rabbit. This was a good car. I sold it to my best friend when I decided to upgrade to air conditioning. He had all kinds of problems with it.

* A new gray 1988 VW Golf. I got my 100,000 and then got a new one.

* A new forest green 1995 VW Golf. Got my 100,000 and then needed something bigger and better for the boys.

* A new silver 2005 Mazda MPV. So far, so good at 2,000 miles.

We went to the new IKEA in Stoughton on Sunday. Hank got car sick and threw up just before we arrived. He was fine after he got sick. They sell a lot of things at IKEA but you can't buy a clean T shirt for a four year old.

Skipper still loves his new school. Hank is pretty happy too when he's not car sick. His 5th birthday is coming up. Should I get him a portable DVD player for the car to keep him occupied?

The weather has begun to change. The boys noticed the snowdrop flowers in the backyard. We played our first game of baseball (also in the backyard) until Hank hit all the balls over the fence. His hitting has improved dramatically over the Winter.