It's that time of year
When you live and work in the DC area, sometimes at this time of year you have to tell yourself that:
...I don't care that I'm absolutely swamped at work...
...I don't care that I'm wearing new, not-yet-broken-in work shoes...
...I don't care that there are mobs of slow-walking tourists out and about...
...I NEED TO SEE ME SOME CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!!
Wednesday was one of those days for me. There are plenty of signs of spring here, but it doesn't truly feel like spring until the cherry blossoms are in full bloom along the Tidal Basin.
Trying to see them on the weekend is genuinely insane because of the crowds, and although we haven't tried it, I'm guessing that taking a two-year-old who doesn't want to stay in her stroller is also insane, not only because of the crowds, but also because despite our litigious, safety-conscious culture, there are no guardrails to stop people from plummeting into the Tidal Basin. (It's truly a wonder that more people don't accidentally get knocked in.)
One of the nice things about being here is that I can leave my office, walk around at least a part of the Tidal Basin, walk back to my office past the Lincoln Memorial and through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (where the 50,000+ names etched in black granite are still moving no matter how many times I see them...as I was walking through the other day, I overheard a young girl turn to her family and ask, "so all these people DIED?"), and still be back in less than an hour.
I remember Gretchen once saying that if she ever sees the U.S. Capitol and feels indifferent to it, she'll know she's been here too long. I guess that's also how I feel about the cherry blossoms...
...I don't care that I'm absolutely swamped at work...
...I don't care that I'm wearing new, not-yet-broken-in work shoes...
...I don't care that there are mobs of slow-walking tourists out and about...
...I NEED TO SEE ME SOME CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!!
Wednesday was one of those days for me. There are plenty of signs of spring here, but it doesn't truly feel like spring until the cherry blossoms are in full bloom along the Tidal Basin.
Trying to see them on the weekend is genuinely insane because of the crowds, and although we haven't tried it, I'm guessing that taking a two-year-old who doesn't want to stay in her stroller is also insane, not only because of the crowds, but also because despite our litigious, safety-conscious culture, there are no guardrails to stop people from plummeting into the Tidal Basin. (It's truly a wonder that more people don't accidentally get knocked in.)
One of the nice things about being here is that I can leave my office, walk around at least a part of the Tidal Basin, walk back to my office past the Lincoln Memorial and through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (where the 50,000+ names etched in black granite are still moving no matter how many times I see them...as I was walking through the other day, I overheard a young girl turn to her family and ask, "so all these people DIED?"), and still be back in less than an hour.
I remember Gretchen once saying that if she ever sees the U.S. Capitol and feels indifferent to it, she'll know she's been here too long. I guess that's also how I feel about the cherry blossoms...
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