Dr. Vane Goes to Washington

A mama-blogger that I very much like had a post a weekish ago about going with her young kid to Washington DC and touring about. She noted the sort of squeamish conflict between the kind of idealism and awe a city full of landmarks and history can inspire, especially when you are narrating the city to your kid, and the cynicism she feels when she considers what goes on in DC and what it has come to mean for her.

It's an interesting point, I thought. I go to DC with some regularity to visit my closest friend and am leaving tomorrow for another visit. I've not gone to landmarks or museums in years, but wonder if I should make a point to this time. There's something about an election year, right? And a finally-concluded, exhausting primary? And worry about whether legislation can solve our energy crisis? And worry about what my daughter's America will look like?

I love going to DC because I love seeing my friend and because we tend to laze about. But I wonder if this isn't precisely the right time to force a little cognitive dissonance into my experience of place, and if a weekend away might be even more restorative if I saw it as a chance to confront more of what I love/hate about how things are done in this country.

This is maybe a just a long way of saying I'm off for the weekend, and I don't have to take any toddler entertainment on the plane with me. Whee!