Every year in early spring my daugher, my Dad and I go to the tidal basin in Washington D.C. to see the Cherry Trees in full bloom. If you live in the Washington Metropolitan area and have never been I highly recommend going. We go very early Sunday Morning, we leave Leesburg at 6am, so we can beat the crowds and get into D.C. around 6:45. By the time we park, which does not take that long because my Dad works for the F.A.A. and can park at their building which is only about 5 blocks from the tidal basin, we are usually at the basin by 7:15 a.m. It is wonderful that we can take our time walking around because there is hardly anyone there. It is peaceful, beautiful and a great way to spend time with the family. We always visit the Jefferson Memorial and walk up the steps to read the words written so long ago and need to be remembered more often. This is my absolute favorite thing to do in the Spring. To me it represents the start of Spring a new Season where we can come out of our Winter doldrums and start anew.
Christina turned 14 back in March and this is the "magical age" that the youth are allowed to start going to dances. She was really excited to go and apparently was having a good time before the dance even started. She got asked to dance by one boy and that was good enough for her. Her secret crush was not there so she was slightly bummed. When I peaked in the last couple of minutes, because as a parent I just can't help myself, she was skipping around the gym without a care in the world. She did not stop and think, people are looking at me I should act "normal". She just kept skipping and twirling and having a great time. I love that she has not lost the ability to just have fun and be herself. I hope that she keeps that for a long time. I hope her spirits are never crushed by someone making fun of her because she is having a good time and maybe not dancing "cool" like everyone else. Sometimes our children teach us valuable lessons. As I was watching her I thought why do we let what other people might think from holding us back from skipping when we want to. She reminded me that being ourselves is a great thing. So thank you Christina for having the strength and courage to be yourself. 
