Great Barrington, MA!!

What a wonderful week we just had!!! Shanam has always wanted to take me back to show me where he grew up, and the perfect opportunity came during the second week of October! It was as if we were transported back in time as we explored his childhood stomping ground with his good childhood buddy, Leif. Our trip could not have gone any better and it was so neat to be able to see the beautiful area where he lived. He is always telling me fun stories about his childhood and now I can picture it perfectly!

October 5

He and his sister attended a Rudolf Steiner School instead of a traditional elementary school. This is where he and Leif first became friends.

The grounds were beautiful and the classrooms were even more beautiful! There is just a special, calm feeling when you enter and see the rooms :) All the walls were colored in soft pastels, green plants adorned every corner, the desks were wooden, and gorgeous chalk drawings decorated the chalkboards. They learned how to knit and felt, carve wood, play musical instruments and speak a foreign language. Art and color is included in every subject including math and they take a movement class called eurythmy. I loved seeing everything!

Something else that is unique is that they have the same teacher from first grade all the way through eighth grade! Shanam was able to contact his teacher who still teaches there and meet with him, as well as be introduced to his current class. It was a sweet reunion, to say the least :) The class loved asking the guys questions and the girls especially took a liking to Annabelle. They all wanted to hold her :) We spent a good three hours exploring the school and chatting with everyone. Shanam was able to see a lot of people he didn't realize were still there, including his sister's old teacher!

He then took me to see his old house. Isn't it so cute?! It was fun to see wood chip piles that were still there in the backyard from when Shanam put them there :)

We then went to visit Leif's next door neighbors, where the guys had spent many hours working on their farm and helping out around the house.

They spent many a day inside that red barn :)

Last stop was to visit his old eurythmy teacher who now owns a bed and breakfast just outside of town.

Meeting characters from Shanam's past and seeing how excited they were to see him again, made me love him that much more! He has become the man he is because of the influence of a lot of these people, including his best friend, Leif. Even after all these years they were each others best man and still talk on the phone almost every day :) It's rare to find a life friend like that and I'm so grateful he has Leif :)

After Great Barrington, we made our way to Leif's in-laws house who live just outside of Albany where we gratefully stayed the night :) Thank you Tony and Sylvia!