To Have and to Hold: My Vinyl Year

My kids were off school for Rosh Hashanah, a holiday that we do not celebrate. But fair enough. Non-Christians have to deal with having their school year built around Christian holidays. My county now calls it winter break…but we all know what we’re talking about. And spring break, without fail, aligns with Easter. This was just one day, I could make it work—despite my ignorance about this specific holiday. I loaded my kids (quantity: two) into the car and brought them across the Potomac into Washington, DC. The Smithsonian museums are always free and always open (save for Thanksgiving and Christmas). My kids were not consulted and made their unhappiness known at every opportunity, even as they picked out their favorite cakes in Wayne Thiebaud’s Cakes and as they laughed at all the butts delicately carved in smooth white marble.  Admit that they liked it, however, and I “win.” And we can’t have that. American History was up next, where we encountered the stylish Girlhood exhib...