My Summer Vacation, Part 1: Photos

As promised, here are some pictures from the first two days of our trip to DC. Hope you enjoy.


Crime and Punishment Museum:



Bonnie and Clyde's car



The Set of America's Most Wanted

Navy Memorial:

These two pictures are the center of the Navy Memorial. All around this are small memorials to different branches of the Navy. As you can see in the pictures the surface is two toned and makes a map of the world. Well, anyone who's smart enough to look sees that. I, however, thought that the ground was wet and just starting to dry in spots. In my defense, it honestly looked wet and I think it's harder to see when you're standing right on top of it. Anyway, everyone had a good laugh at my expense. I do what I can to keep everyone happy......



National Archives:

Some of these pictures are hard to see because you're not allowed to use a flash and everything is under glass but you get the basic idea. They're old and faded. The one that got to me the most was the rough draft of the Constitution. You can actually see where they edited it and wrote notes in the margin. Great stuff!

These two portraits flank the documents in the rotunda:







The Declaration of Independence:

So faded you can barely see it even with the naked eye. Most of the signatures are not even recognizable, even so, it is still moving to be in it's presence.




Declaration of Independence


Rough draft of the Constitution



First page of the Constitution


Bill of Rights


Nationals Park:

Beautiful ball park. But where's the roof?

So there you have it. Some pictures of vacation part 1.

I will be blogging this weekend on the next two days we spent in DC. One day was spent outside in the record heat and humidity, but we still made the most of it even though we were wilting. The next day was spent more indoors, which was nice and included my favorite place in DC.

My Summer Vacation, Footnote

I will be posting more of my summer vacation in a few days. I am impatiently waiting for my youngest to download all of her pics onto my computer. She has the majority of the pictures and I really don't want to post until I have them. My last post was missing pictures of the ballpark and inside the Archives. Check back for those. Until then......stay cool!

My Summer Vacation, Part 1

Yes, I officially suck at blogging. Oh well…….

I’m back after a hiatus and just in time to tell you all about my summer vacation. The most exciting thing about it was it was the first vacation we have taken in about 8 years. Of course, my daughter had to move completely across country for me to get a vacation, but that’s a subject for another blog. As you may have noticed I titled this part 1. You all know how wordy I can be and there is a lot to tell so I figured instead of trying to post in one huge long blog, I would stretch it out and make you wait for the future installments. So, without further ado…..let’s get started.

My daughter, Sarah, lives in Arlington, VA and works in Washington, D.C. The last time we visited D.C. Sarah was 8 months old. Kind of ironic that she would grow up to live there. It gave us the perfect excuse to take a vacation. When beginning to plan the vacation we decided that we would all go together for what would be probably the last “family” vacation we would ever take. Having no more kids in school I was excited at the prospect that we could pick any time of year to take this glorious trip. I’m thinking D.C. in the spring. No families on summer vacations, cherry blossoms in full bloom, nice weather. I was stoked. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. See, I live in a family where baseball is the most important thing in life. So my husband expressed his need to go on this vacation when the Diamondbacks were there to play the Nationals. Ok, I was willing to go along with this little request, so we pull out the D-Backs schedule and what do we find? They will not be in D.C. in the spring, nor even the early summer, no, they will be in D.C. the first weekend of August. Oh yay, I think, (there really needs to be a special font for sarcasm) D.C. in the most humid time of year. Can’t wait. Far be it from me to spoil anyone’s fun so we make the plans for August. Oh, and we couldn’t just go to one game, he wanted to go to all three. I told him he could go to all three but I would give him one and then find something else to do when he was at the game. The weather in D.C. in the days before we left was pretty mild and I was thinking maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Wrong. Guess we brought the heat with us and when we got there they started to have record heat and what they call “oppressive humidity”. They are right, it’s oppressive. So we spent most of our trip wet, and not because it was raining. I can’t promise to never complain about the heat again, but I will say I am glad I live where there is practically no humidity. I wasn’t likin’ that so much. Anyway, a few things about D.C…..

The Clems in DC

I love how things are so close together. You can metro and walk to anywhere you want to go. It’s fabulous and one of the things that I wish we could do here. They have great restaurants. All the restaurants there have their menu’s posted outside so you can walk up and see what they have and figure out if you want to eat there. It’s great. Obviously, there is so much history there and I love all the old quaint buildings and I couldn’t help but think as we were walking in some of the older parts of town that these are some of the same streets that were walked on by the early patriots when they built the city. I’m corny like that.

Our first full day there we visited Sarah’s workplace and met her co-workers. Always nice to put faces to the names I hear her talk about everyday. We then set out to see Ford’s Theater but unfortunately their schedule did not match ours so we set out walking to our next destination, the Crime and Punishment Museum. I highly recommend this place. It’s privately owned so you have to pay to get in but it was well worth it. It takes you through the history of crime and punishment from the middle ages to the present day. There are special sections on forensics, serial killers, assassinations and many more. They also house the set of America’s Most Wanted which was one of the reasons I wanted to go there. When we were done there we hopped on the Metro and rode over to the National Archives. When you get off the Metro, you are right at the Navy Memorial which is right across the street from the Archives. That was a nice surprise and something we hadn’t planned on seeing. The Archives were awesome even if the wait was long. I got very emotional looking at the Declaration and the Constitution. Yes, there were a few tears. I just get emotional when I think about what those documents mean and what the brave men and women of that time had to go through to give us the life we live today. National Archives

After the Archives we headed back to the hotel where Dan, Steve and Beth got ready to go to the game. While the others were at the game Sarah and I stayed at the hotel and had a great little visit. We ate Chipotle, watched Dateline and talked. It was so reminiscent of our days together when she lived at home and I was really glad to have that time with her.

The next day we spent the morning visiting Sarah’s new house. Well, it’s not new, actually it’s quite old, but it’s new to her. She had just moved in the weekend before we got there. It’s a cute little house and I was glad I got to see where she lives. Later we met my cousin, Cheryl, at the hotel and set out for Chinatown. I have not seen Cheryl in so many years it’s embarrassing, but that’s what happens when you live on opposite sides of the country. We ate at a great restaurant in Chinatown called Clyde’s. Great food and a wonderful atmosphere. After dinner we set out for the ballpark to watch our D-Backs take on the Nationals. The weather was actually not too bad once the sun went down and we had a nice breeze. Cheryl and I missed most of the game because we were catching up. Actually didn’t matter that much as the D-Backs lost for the second day in a row. Oh well. A fun time was had by all and I think we need to not go so long next time before we see each other again.

So there you have the first two days of our vacation. Fun filled and busy. In the next installment I will tell you about monuments, memorials, ruby slippers and the coolest place (in my opinion) in D.C.

Irritation

I'm going to say right off the top that this will be a sarcastic post. I tend to be sarcastic when I write about things that peeve me. This will be one of those posts.

I've been thinking about things that irritate me. It's actually my brother-in-law's fault. He wrote about being annoyed by things on a daily basis on his blog the other day. He said annoy but I prefer irritate. It's semantics, I know, but I'm weird about these things. Anyway, I told him I think it comes with age. The older I get, I find myself getting irritated more often. I do believe I'm on my way to becoming a crotchety old lady. I feel sorry for my husband. But he procrastinates, so I guess we're even.

I could give you a whole list of things that irritate me. But for now we'll concentrate on just one. It's on the top of my list and if you commit this particular sin it might get you a dirty look or a snarky comment depending on just how crotchety I happen to be that day.

I absolutely hate when people state the obvious. It drives me crazy. Now this particular irritation is not a new one. It just irritates me even more now that I'm not thinking about who has a report due tomorrow that they haven't even started or how I'm going to get three kids to three different places all at the same time. I notice that I get irritated more often now that I have time on my hands to actually think about what is going on around me. Here are some examples of stating the obvious. All these have happened to me.

1. Waiting patiently for the elevator to come and take me up. The up arrow is lit up in all it's glory. Someone walks up and pushes it again (it's not coming faster if you do that....) and actually turns around and says to me "Is this elevator going up?" Really!?! Are you sign illiterate? Honestly, do you not know which way the arrow is pointing? Oy!

2. I was invited to a function that I was unsure I would be able to attend. I ended up being able to go and when I arrived the host says to me, "So, you were able to come?" No, I'm a figment of your imagination and I'm actually at the movies right now.

3. This one is my ultimate favorite.....when my son played little league I had a picture of him in his uniform on a button. I wore it proudly on my uniform at work. One day I got on the elevator and this man says to me, "Is that your son?". I proudly say "yes!". To which he replies "Does he play baseball?" I reply, " No he plays soccer but his dad and I hate that game so we made him dress in a baseball uniform for these pictures." I don't think the guy was too happy with me, but really, if you ask a stupid question, sometimes you're going to get a stupid, and snarky, answer.

I have a theory about why this happens. I actually think people are trying to make conversation and just don't know how to go about it. With email and text message, and yes even blogs, we don't converse like we used to and I think it's a lost art. People don't know how to start a conversation so they say the first thing that pops into their head and sometimes it's, well, for lack of a better word, stupid. I just wish people would think before they speak. To borrow the words of Dennis Miller...."That's just my opinion, I could be wrong".


It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln

My Job

Several years ago I wrote a little something about the lessons I've learned while raising my kids. It's very nostalgic to read it now because I feel like that part of my life is over. At the ages my kids are now, the raising is all but done. If they haven't gotten it by now, then I think it's too late. All in all, I think Dan and I did a pretty good job. Our kids are happy, healthy and productive, so what more can you ask for? Grandkids, that's what. But none of them are ready for that, so I will have to wait. Here is what I wrote about my mom lessons with a few little updates added:




When people ask me what my job is, I always respond, "I'm a mom!" To which they reply, "Oh, you're so lucky, you get to stay at home with your kids." The answer to that is, no, I have a place I go to every weekday to earn my living, and some would call that my job. But in reality, the most important thing I do is raise kids. So that's my job. The other is just a place I go so my kids can eat, have health insurance and go to college.


I take my job very seriously. I want to raise responsible citizens of the world. I want my kids to have a conscience and a great work ethic, compassion and understanding of their fellow earthlings. Oh yeah, and it would be nice if they were happy, too. I love my job. It's interesting, challenging and my life long passion. I've been in this job for 24 years with no plans of retiring. I will however take the promotion to grandma when it comes along; although I’m sure that won't be for some time yet. I'm looking forward to it, as with most promotions the job is easier and has more perks. Anyway, I digress. I'm not a psychologist, psychoanalyst or psychotherapist (although, my children often tell me they think I am psycho!) I'm just a mom who has learned a lot in her on-the-job training. Here are some lessons I’ve learned:

Sarah-24 years old. Lessons learned from this child: no matter how old the child is you must always listen to what they have to say. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes your children are smarter than you are and while scary, you must deal with it and never let them know you know this. Pride is a good thing. Your child may have talents you never thought possible, so if they're interested in something, let them try. There is nothing like the relationship a mother has with her first born.

Stephen- 23 years old. Lessons learned from this child: feeling guilty is a normal mothering emotion. It does not, however, mean that you ARE guilty. Getting straight A's in school is not as important as being a happy, well-rounded child (or adult, for that matter). It's ok if your 8yr old really believes he can be Batman when he grows up. Constant cartoon watching will NOT turn your child into an ax murderer. There is nothing like the relationship that a mother has with her son.


Elizabeth- 20 years old. Lessons learned from this child: Whatever you tried with the first two children will not work with the third. Constant activity only makes the mother tired, not the child. If your child is a slob, you may just have to learn to live with it. Some things are not worth fighting over. Imagination is a wonderful thing. If your child makes you laugh every day, you are a very lucky person. There is nothing like the relationship that a mother has with her last born.


Here is my personal training manual for the most important job I've ever had:

1. Read to your kids everyday. Some of the best memories I have with my kids are the times when we read together. They may become life long readers, or not, but what they gain from it is immeasurable.
2. Some things are just not worth fighting over. Who is going to care 10 years from now if the bed is not made today? Learn to pick your battles.
3. Each child is an individual. Treat them as such. What worked with one may not work with all of them. Adjust your parenting accordingly. The kids might think you aren't being fair because everyone is not "treated the same". To bad, life is not fair, and it's better they learn it from you than from their first boss.
4. Do not "fix" things for your children. If you do, then you fail to teach them the essential problem solving skills they will need when they are adults. I've always told my kids that each experience they have is a life lesson and they need to use these life lessons now so as to make the transition to adulthood that much easier.
5. Do not be your child's friend. They have enough friends. They need you to be the parent. It doesn't mean that they can't come to you with their deepest darkest secrets (they won't, but you can hope). It means you're not there to provide them with a good time. You're there to provide them with the skills to get through life. You will have lots of good times along the way and lots of not so good times. That's the breaks of being a parent.
6. Make sure they know your love is unconditional. I have a little saying that I always use on my kids when they are feeling down or put upon or just not having a great day. "No matter what happens, your Mother always loves you." Most of the time they roll their eyes when they hear it because they've heard it so much, but I know it means a lot to them. They have even turned it around and used it on me. That is a great feeling.
7. Parents are not perfect. Sometimes we make a decision that our kids think is wrong. Listen to what they have to say about it. Sometimes they're right. Also, when we act too quickly or harshly, which we do, we need to say we're sorry. We don't accept that behavior from our children, why should they accept it from us? And when you've made a mistake, admit it. I've made a lot of apologies during my tenure as Mom. It's important for kids to know that everyone makes mistakes and that you're a big enough person to admit it.
8. Let your children have opinions. From what their favorite color is when they're two to how they feel about the death penalty when they're a teenager and everything in between. Listen and discuss. You may sway them to your side, or not. But you learn so much about your child when you listen to how they feel and what they think.

9. Make sure they know you value their education. Go to parent teacher conferences even if your kid has straight A's and the teacher says you don't need to. Volunteer at school if possible. Ask your kids what they are learning about.


And last but not least........


10. There are no rules. Sometimes you just have to wing it, use your common sense and hope you get it right.

A Tribute to Walter

In my post from earlier today I mentioned Walter Cronkite. Tonight I hear he has passed away. It makes me sad. Almost like losing a member of the family. For every major event of my life, until he retired, Walter was there to explain it all. My earliest memory of him is sitting at my father's feet watching JFK's funeral on TV with Walter giving the commentary. I wasn't quite 5 years old but I remember it vividly. Of course, there was the moon walk which I mentioned in my previous post. He provided the commentary to so many of life's events. Presidential elections, the Iran hostage crisis, plane crashes, moon walks and every day mundane news. We trusted him to give us the information we needed and wanted. There was no one like him then or now. He was truly one of a kind.

Rest in peace.....your voice will be missed.

And that's the way it is. Walter Cronkite

Space....The Final Frontier

As many of you have probably noticed I have a NASA Image of the Day on my side bar. I am fascinated by everything having to do with space. I marvel at the beautiful bodies made up of gases and debris. I am amazed at the complexity and simplicity of it all. I never tire of hearing about the space shuttle missions and it makes me sad that, today, we take it all for granted. To me it is nothing short of miraculous that we can actually explore space and come home safely.

I know the exact moment when this fascination began. It is one of those moments that is burned into my memory. I can smell the smells and feel the air and I can even hear my dad's voice. It is one of the most vivid memories I have.

I was ten years old that summer. I knew there were men in space but I really didn't pay that much attention to what was going on. Until that night. I can smell the popcorn popping and hear my dad calling my brother and I into the family room. I knew it was something special because with our popcorn we got to have a glass of ice cold Pepsi. Pepsi was reserved for special occasions only. I sat on the floor in front of our black and white console TV, watching Walter Cronkite. Another indication something big was about to happen. For those in my generation, nothing important happened in the world without Walter to tell you all about it. At first I was kind of antsy because there were just a bunch of scientists talking on and on and I was getting bored. But then the most amazing thing happened. There, coming into focus on the screen, were pictures from inside the lunar module, sitting on the surface of the moon. Pictures of Neil Armstrong descending the stairs to take that first historic step. In that moment I was hooked. It amazed and astounded me and I wanted to see more. I got the significance of what a huge step that was when I looked at my father's face. There was pride and a sense of awe. He made me realize that this was no ordinary day. This was the day that a man walked on the moon for the first time, and he was an American.

Still today, when I look to the sky and see the moon, I think of that night and I marvel at what was accomplished. I look forward to the day when we go back and what we will find then. I know that there are differing opinions as to whether or not we should spend money on the space program. I believe we should. For the detractors I offer this: Spend one day without your cell phone, computer, i-pod, GPS, digital or satellite TV, state of the art military protection and most of the appliances you have in your home. All of these things have been either invented or improved because of the space program.

Monday, July 20, 2009 is the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon and I am still amazed by it all.

I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream. Neil Armstrong