From Mom:
Getting ready for school, Caitie and I had a long talk about life - I
was discussing how much freedom she'll have when she is older. I asked,
when you are 24, and you want to take a trip to California, do you need
my permission? She said yes. She was SO happily surprised to find out
she doesn't need permission. I told her my job then is to teach her
well now, so she'll make good decisions later. Like, if she goes to
Paris, and runs out of money, and can't get home... that would be bad.
She said, well, I could put out a sign and a pot, and collect money on
the street. I said - you *could* - but that's exactly NOT what I want
for you and why I need to teach you lots of things, things about money,
math, spelling, reading. She said oh yes, spelling. Because you don't
want my sign on the street to have misspelled words!