DC State of Mind

Living life in the Nation's Capital

[dc-stateofmind]

Reading the night away

On Saturday, I took my baby to the library. We go to the Watha T. Daniel  library in Shaw and I am always impressed with the staff they have working in the children's section. The library itself offers an amazing  program for  children, such as story time, pajama night, and others. I have been to the  lap story time with  her  when she  was  just 2 months old,  even then, barely  conscious, she  was  glued  in to  every word and  really  taking  it  all  in. I  didn't  know  a  baby could be  so concentrated.

The  library is  a about 1 mile away  from  our  house, a good  walk  to  get my body moving and  when we get  there, I   let  her  roam  in the open playroom. Everything is so  well  set  up, a  library somehow makes  me feel like home, I  just love having books around me. While  we were  there, I  picked up some  children  books I  had  never read before, such  as  Olivia  by  Ian Falconer.  What  a  charming book, I  also  got  the  runaway wok, a  story  inspired by  the  talking  teapot by  Hans  Christian Andersen, just  set  in  China  during Chinese New Year written by Ying Chang Compestine and  Pete the  Cat by  James Dean and  Eric  Litwin. Although she's  not  terribly  into  reading  just  yet, I  can't  wait  for  her  to  pick  her own  books  and have me read them to her.

As for me, I picked up Home Comforts by  Cheryl Mendelson  about the art and science of keeping house. Something, I  am always trying to improve, to have a better home life. Although I have always loved reading the night away when I was a kid, often reading to the brink of exhaustion with my eyelids falling shut, it's good to be back behind a good book and reading the night away.

[dc-stateofmind]

Thank you Dr. Seuss

I didn't grow up with Dr. Seuss and for the longest time I did not understand the fascination around him. I did not only not like green eggs and ham, I simply didn't get them. Kind of ironic that this is the whole moral of the story of green eggs and ham, to not prematurely make a decision without trying something new.

For Christmas, as a family present my husband ordered several books for us to read by Dr. Seuss. I was captured the first time I read Fox in Socks out loud, what a fun and silly book. And then when we read "Oh the places you will go" and besides the iconic illustrations, deep imagination, and clever rhymes, the book spoke to me as an adult and so accurately captured some of the advice I want my daughter to receive for her life and actually how I felt about my life in some way or another. These sparks started a fire.

It didn't take long for me to make my way through many more Dr. Seuss books, each one unique and yet so similar. Each one reminds me to be grateful and fortunate for what I have, to get up again when I fail, to be courageous, to go to sleep, to not get too greedy, to protect the small people, that love conquers it all, and many more. And although not the moral of the stories but to read these beautiful,silly words out loud and appreciate the art makes me laugh and grateful to be reading a good night story to this little person that I love so dearly. 

Although I did not drink the Kool aid for the longest time, I am now hooked for I will read Dr.Seuss books in bed, read them standing on my head, will read them out loud while sitting on a cloud, these books make me dance, they make me prance, what Dr. Seuss has written down in ink gives everyone something good to think, I repeat I will read these books joyfully while my daughter falls asleep peacefully. Dr Seuss I will read your books here and I will read them there, really, I would read them anywhere. 

[dc-stateofmind]

Inaugural Post - Daycare and the District

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This year as my first year as a working mom, and mom in general, I have learned that nothing is more frustrating than missing work for reasons other than taking a vacation. All my days would be generously used across the year for vacations, long weekends, or reserve a few days for unexpected stuff, like swine flu. Now that you have a kid those days are reserved for snow days when the government shuts down and so does your day care, Dr. visits, sick time, Hand Foot and Mouth Disease scares, training days at day care, etc. Snow days used to be the best thing in the world and before I had a kid I thought Hand Foot and Mouth disease was an animal disease. Oh, how quickly I learned.

So last night when a text comes in to remind me that day care doesn't open until 12 pm on Monday due to staff training, I guess I shouldn't even be surprised. With two grants to submit and the end of the fiscal year, it is kind of expected to get another reason for me to write my boss explaining yet again, why I will be late, can't come to work, need to leave early, or need to work from home. I seem to email him on a weekly basis and because I am sick of it, I am sure he must be too. 

But here I am, with my kid and I have 4 hours to kill. This was the lemons I received, now how to make lemonade? There are two things that are on my priority list for my personal life, explore the district and get in shape again. Sounds like walking to see the sights would qualify for lemonade. Hence, I strapped the baby in the stroller and off we went for a close to 3 mile walk. I love the botanical gardens, I find all the variety of plants so exciting. I would take a leaf over a beautiful flower any day. And although there are lots of flowers at the gardens, there are even more leaves. Leaves with holes, leaves with different greens, small  leaves, big leaves, red leaves. You know, one fish, two fish kind of like that. Although exploring the gardens with a stroller is very different than it is to do so on your own, it was still wonderful to be there. I wish I had had more time but will be back again soon, next time with camera.

On the way there I walked past the Capitol Building, what a gorgeous building, it always takes my breath away. In my 10 years in DC, I have never been inside and so I finally scheduled a tour for late October with my parents. In the meantime, I enjoyed the time I got, although somewhat begrudgingly, with my daughter. And next time there is another reason why daycare is closed, I will find another way to spend an exciting day with her in our city, her hometown.