A quick break from talking about other people's joy for a moment so I can talk about some joy of my own.

Alexandra had her last day of preschool yesterday. Three years of intensive playing at Turtle Park and she's ready for the big show in the fall. Big kids' school, as she calls it. Whether she ends up as an honor student at Jamestown Elementary School (one of these days I'm going to rip one of those bumper stickers off of someone's car), I couldn't care less. All I know is that she has fun doing just about anything and that's far more important at this age.

Those of you who know me know that it doesn't take much for me to break out my ever-growing folder of photos of the little munchkin. Jumping at the Acropolis, jumping at the Eiffel Tower, jumping in our front yard. She's a Mexican jumping bean.

And of course I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the clothes. As she gets ready to turn five next week, all I can say is that if you ever told me, a guy who never strays far from a pair of ripped Levis, that my daughter would be a fashion plate one day, I would have laughed  in your face. Alexandra has a mind of her own when it comes to her clothing choices. In fact, just the other day I came into the family room to find her in a bathing suit and a floatie, an ensemble perfectly complemented by the arm sleeves of her pink winter parka. She looked like a deranged Eskimo.

So here's to happy kids. Happy to sit of the sofa and munch on raw spaghetti ("bamboo," as she calls it). Happy to play on the front lawn with nothing more than a tiny piece of moss. Happy to watch the same episode of Little Bear 956 times in a row, even when there's eighty-seven channels of crapola for kids on at the same time. And, most of all for this particular daddy, happy to sing the refrain of Bruce Spingsteen's "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" at the top of her lungs each morning as we drive across the Chain Bridge to school.

To all the graduates out there and their proud families, congratulations! And to see a mini gallery of Alexandra from the last two months, click here.

 Matt