DC/NYC

This is a good photo to share as I let go of a few thoughts about our latest big trip.  We spent five days in Washington, DC and then took the train up to Manhattan to spend five more days looking at another East Coast iconic city.

DC is definitely a man's town.  It radiates with male dominance and power.  All the monuments and memorials with a few exceptions are in honor of the smart, strong and foresighted men who established and then propelled our country forward.  I was fascinated with the sight of George Washington's actual camp stool and what looked to be his mess kit when we visited the Museum of American History.  To sit  in the real Ford's Theater and gaze up at the fateful balcony was an experience in sensing the power of Lincoln's presence and what his life and death meant to our country.  Seeing the memorials and monuments created a very potent feeling of respect for former presidents as well as for the many, many men who died in battle for our nation.

I had to look a little more carefully for the woman power of America.  But it wasn't hard to find.  I saw it in the several memorials to the nurses who supported and cared for those wounded in our many wars and battles.  I saw it in the gowns of the First Ladies.  I was especially impressed to see the gowns of Michelle Obama, Jackie O., Mamie Eisenhower,  Mary Todd Lincoln and others.  Their strengths and contributions were and are as valuable as those of their husbands.  I saw plenty of business women hurrying down the streets of our Capitol obviously on their way to help run the country in one way or another.  Viewing works of art and science done by women helped make their power stand out.  The many women who were escorting groups of school children touring the city captured my attention.  They are ultimately the ones most in charge of sharing this leading global city with our nation's young.  There were men with these groups, of course, but the roles of the leaders fell mostly to women.  That symbolized a lot for me.

New York City belongs not just to men or women, but to everyone.  And I mean EVERYONE.  It is definitely a world city. Everyone from everywhere is represented in some way and  all is wrapped up in an over the top kind of package that blasted my senses full bore.  If you look at the photo closely, you can make out the nearly finished tower at Ground Zero.  Pat took the picture from the top of the Rock.  In between there and the Tower are the lower East and West sides and on down to Lower Manhattan.  To Pat's back were the Upper East and West sides with the beautiful Central Park in the middle. Museums, restaurants, and fascinating neighborhoods are everywhere.  We stayed just a block or two away from the never sleeping Times Square which took some getting used to for me.  Sensory overload needs to be dealt with carefully!

What an unforgettable experience these two cities were!

Mom's Month

My mom was one of those bigger than life kind of people that you run into once in a while.  She dressed in bright colors, wore lots of sparkly rings and hangy-downy earrings, always had a smile on her face and greeted everyone she met with welcoming enthusiasm.  She doused herself in expensive perfume which was sometimes a little hard to take.  She loved purses and treated herself to new ones regularly. One time she really wanted this particular spendy bag at Nordstrom. She "convinced" my dad that she needed it by carrying her purse contents in a paper bag one time when they left to run errands.  Dad stopped at Nordstrom on the way. She had a loud and hearty laugh that used to embarrass me when I was a teenager and I remember praying that no one would say anything funny.  Of course, that prayer wasn't answered.  It didn't need to be.

Mom used to say that there are only two kinds of people in this world:  Those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't.  She actually had many more categories for people groups but that's the one that recently surfaced.  She could fix all kinds of things by using "a trick she learned in the Army."  That expression irritated my sister but I grew up thinking she really HAD been in the Army so it made all kinds of sense to me. Mom could sing and whistle beautifully.  Our house was always full of music when I was growing up and much of it emanated from her special brand of musical talent.  She could recite poems she'd learned in grade school.  It was a great day when both of us could recite "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud" together.

She always behaved like a lady.  I wonder if anyone even remembers what that means.  I received more instruction than I ever needed in how to behave like a lady.  Some of the requirements are that you always carry a tissue, have mad money tucked away in your purse, never swear, always wear perfume, and always maintain the impression that you are in perfect health and that your world couldn't be more pleasant even if the dog just died and you broke out in an inexplicable rash.  She sometimes invited near strangers to holiday dinners simply because they had no other place to go. She was a terrific self-taught cook and made homemade bread for years. I was embarrassed to take homemade bread sandwiches to school so I'd eat them in the gym where my friend Ann would trade her potato chips for some of my bread.

My mom was the central figure in my world until my husband and children joined her in that circle.  Every  day was a special day just for her.