Julie’s News from Maryland

The kids and I went into Washington, DC today to visit with our cousin who was in town with some of her friends.  We had a great time with her and enjoyed walking around the Air & Space Museum with her.  Afterwards, we wandered over to the National Memorial Day Parade.  It was fun to see all the bands lining up and getting themselves in formation for the parade.  We arrived at the starting point of the parade about 15 minutes before it was to start.  We got to see the National Anthem sung and hear the invocation, as well as say the pledge of the allegiance with the crowd.  I’m pretty sure I haven’t said that in a crowd since sometime in high school.

At some point a woman came out and sang all the songs from the armed forces.  Having grown up singing many of them on the 4th of July with my family, it was fun to hear them sung.  Though I must admit that I didn’t know that the merchant marines had their own song - that was a new one. 

After some more formalities, the woman returned and began to sing “God Bless America”.  All of a sudden, what had begun as just a few quiet voices in the crowd, became the whole crowd singing along in force.  We happened to be sitting on the steps of a large building - we were about half way up - so we could hear the voices coming from behind us, as well as next to us.  It was quite a sensation to hear a crowd of strangers since together with such force and unity.  We sang it twice, with the singer adding her voice as harmony near the end.  It was just beautiful.

I must admit that I haven’t been much of a patriot the last few years.  I’ve been saddened by many of the choices that our country has made.  Internally, we have become greedy - chasing after more and more wealth, until we practically collapsed our economy.  Externally, we became prideful and arrogant, believing that we know best and making decisions on a global scale independent of the counsel of other important nations.  Yet, in the midst of all of that, I continue to be eternally grateful for this place that I live.  For all of our faults and all of our errors, my life and the lives of my children are incredibly easy and blessed because we live in a place that is mostly free of corruption, where we know that our water and our food is safe, where education is free (if not equal in quality) for all, and as a general rule we are physically safe from harm.  Joining in the prayerful song asking God to care for us was really moving and I’m so glad that we got to be there right at that moment.

This is a photo of the very beginning of the parade.  The banner says “National Memorial Day Parade”

The street that runs in front of our town house is a fairly busy corridor. It’s not a major street with businesses or anything, but it is the way into and out of this large neighborhood back where we live. Every Saturday morning, people from all around town setup yard sales on the strip of grass that runs along that street. Naturally, the kids run out to see what “treasures’ they might find each week.

When I finally drug myself down to the kitchen to make my coffee last Saturday, I peered out the window and saw that someone was selling an exercise bike - and I was delighted. I sped upstairs and put on some real clothes and went out to investigate. The woman was only asking $40 for a LifeCycle brand cyle - that was in perfect condition and just needed a new 9volt battery. I ran inside and scraped together $40 cash - raiding the kids piggy banks and the change jar. I am so excited.

Since moving to Maryland it has become clear that going to the gym in an impossibility in my life. I can’t leave Nicholas with the child care folks at the gym and I’m not willing to pay a babysitter to watch him while I work out. I bought some work out DVDs, but found that I really can’t use them in the morning since I’d be jumping over the heads of my sleeping downstairs neighbors. But, the bike - the bike is perfect. I’ve put it in my room and have already used it to much success. I get a great workout while the kids are just playing in the house. I’m so so happy!