Day 3 of 9

Well, the day began early--not--when we all slept in and missed the 9:00 shuttle to the metro station. We were subsequently disappointed when the 10:00 shuttle was full. The driver assured us he would be back in 10 minutes, yet 1 hour later he returned and the shuttle filled up again before our family of six could get on. This was a good challenge for us. Could we stay kind? Could we roll with the punches? Could we withhold grumbling about the hotel and its service? No, we could not. But we did try to pull ourselves together as best we could. We took our van to the metro station and parked it there, which we could have done two hours earlier if we had only known.



But once we boarded the metro we were back on track. It only took three monuments for us to fall seriously off again: the Lincoln memorial, the Korean war memorial, and the Vietnam memorial. We are smiling in the pictures, but by the time we limped onto the site of the WWII memorial--hot, thirsty, and tired--there was some definite bad blood going on. A 10-minute rest with our feet in the water there did wonders, and we forged on to the Smithsonian with famial harmony renewed. A long break and $20 worth of lemonade put us almost as good as new.

We lingered at the Air and Space museum for awhile--more on that tomorrow--and then we caught the free 6:00 pm concert at the Kennedy Center. I would be lying if I said that all the kids were as enthusiastic as I was about this opportunity, or if I tried to claim that once they heard the music they became engrossed and subsequently asked my forgiveness for their reluctance. But some of us enjoyed it and thanked the others for sticking in there--though not quite until the end of the concert.

We had a contest today as well, but not about civics. This morning Meredith was feeling put-upon, and I realized that what she needed was a Day of Adoration. So I told the other big kids that whoever could serve and adore Meredith the most effusively would be granted an as yet undisclosed award. As usual, Jacob was motivated by the competition and the reward and Sophia was motivated by the moral challenge, so Meredith lived like a princess. Jacob carried her purse all day long. Can you believe that? Meredith hates to carry her purse, and yet she really wants it with her, so she was beyond delighted at this service. Sophia was marvelously kind and solicitous as well. Meredith just announced the winner right before we turned off the lights for bed (I'm writing in the dark), and Jacob won by a slim margin because of his purse-carrying stunt. He is just willing to do anything to win.

Sophia is still up reading her scriptures and look, I'm blogging! More tomorrow!