The big trip is off to a good start. Our small army of a family hit DC yesterday and immediately set off in multiple directions to see multiple sites. We have lots of first time visitors to our nation's capital and they all had things they wanted to see–The Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Museum of US History, the Mall, the Capital, the monuments. We rode the Metro like veterans, bundled up against the cold, ate dinner together, and had a boys and girls nights out. It was glorious.

The weather outside is delightful or frightful, depending on your point of view. Basically, it’s cold. And yesterday as we walked through the Mall on our way to the Hirshhorn Museum of Art, it snowed. Little flurries. Fittingly it happened just as we walked by the ice rink where the zamboni was busy smoothing the ice. In a nice touch for me, I happened upon Rodin’s sculptor, the Burghers of Calais at the art museum, all tidied up and waiting to go on display. I last saw it in the gardens by the Houses of Parliament in London. Nice to know it’s now available closer to home.

As Christmas’s go I think this is going to be a good one. I like not being in charge, going with the flow, following the crowd. I’ve had a lifetime of bossiness, it still pops up as most of my friends can attest, but generally speaking I’m trying to make my latter years be years of accommodation, of submission to the youngsters. They’re bright, they’re smart, they’ve got ideas, and I’ve had my turn at the wheel. As I’ve said before, this is my Guadalupian Period, one last chance to make a mark and I’d like it to be a gentle one.