Had a chance to Skype with Claudius and Kjerstine this afternoon. Claudius started off by giving me the gist of her performance in the local rendition of the Nutcracker, which debutes tonight in Newberg. Needless to say, she's going to be the breakout star.
Then I put Claudius up to guilt-tripping Rachael into coming to the Nutcracker, even though I knew she already had plans. Claudius employed her poutiest voice, but to no avail.
That made both of us pretty sad, so we frowned.
Simple conversations like this have taken on a special significance since the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.