EssBee Goes to Washington

Today I went to DC to spend some time catching up with old friends in the Senate. 

After putting OBB on the bus, I left Baby Girl with my mom and drove up to Washington.  Two hours in the car by myself with my thoughts was...well frankly, it was glorious.  Once I got into the city, and was stopped at the first light I came to, I looked over and saw Brett Baier of Fox News in the car next to me - and it wasn't just a car - it was a Maserati.  Of course he was on the phone.  I briefly toyed with the idea of rolling down my window and trying to take his picture, but I thought better of it and just kept to myself.

Brett Baier

Once I arrived in the Russell Senate Office Building, it was strangley comfortable, but sprinkled with a twinge of "I have no idea where I'm going".  My former boss moved offices after the last election, so finding his new digs required the help of the closest Capitol Police Officer, who was very friendly and happy to help.

I met up with my dear friend, Miss E, who showed me around the new offices, helped me find the few old timers on staff I still knew and introduced me to the new ones.  While we were visiting, the Senator came in from a meeting and had time to chat.  It was so good to see him - he still has his great sense of humor and that sparkle in his eye.

U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)

Miss E and I headed to lunch at the Senate Buffet where we enjoyed great conversation and catching up on each other's lives.  As we walked back to the Senator's office, we passed a bulletin board in the basement of the office building, which is where people put ads for apartments for rent and cars for sale.  A single sheet of white paper was stapled in the middle of it and someone had written in marker on it, "It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice".  To me, that was so fitting for Capitol Hill - it made me chuckle.

Miss E and Me

After lunch, I was able to meet up with my brother and spend time with him.  Then it was time to go, but not without stopping to see an old friend in the office of the other senator from South Carolina.

On the ride home, I had a Jerry Maguire moment when Tom Petty's Free Falling came on the radio, and I sang it as loud as I could while beating the steering wheel with my hand to the beat.  Yep, I was that crazy girl in the car singing to herself.

My fun day concluded with dinner with some girlfriends at The Water Grill in Carytown.  We had a great time talking about our kids, our lives as moms and life in general.