Certificate of Empowerment, 10th Anniversary!

I have one from the first batch of The Certificate of Empowerment
here. I thought they would be used just that one time, the first
time I spoke at a conference. It was a local conference here in
Albuquerque. I think I had 50 copies, and I signed and dated each
one with "real ink" (a Speedball pen and a blue ink). It says
3/23/96. (Apologies to Europeans—March 23, 1996.)

Since then I've had them photocopied and printed by offset with
colored ink on colored paper, and have passed out thousands of copies
by now and I don't date them, because I pass the extras out at the
next conference.

It's been TEN YEARS since I first spoke and passed those out. Seems
like... ten years.

Kirby was nine, and someone on a homeschooling discussion board
(there was no such thing in those days as a separate unschooling
forum) told other readers that they could disregard me
entirely because my oldest was only nine years old. I didn't know
what I was talking about, she assured everyone. I wonder if her
kids are as happy now, ten years later, as mine are?