The Twins Vacation

My husband and I both have children from our first marriages (we do not have children together).  I have two children a boy and girl; my husband has five children 3 boys and 2 girls.  All of our children are over the age of 18 but the twins; fraternal twin boys 17 years old and seniors in high school this year.

 

For the past ten years my husband and I have taken the children every summer on vacation, and this being our very last child vacation I lobbied for our nation’s capital; Washington DC.  I think that every citizen of the USA should visit DC to see all that symbolically stands for what our founding fathers hoped for and wanted to achieve.  Our country is so unique compared to all other countries and municipalities in this world, and in days of such cynicism we need to remember from where we came and what we are supposed to stand for.  So many singular ideas forgetting that this country was born of compromise and liberty…not just liberty. 

 

I highly suggest the free Capitol tour through the Capitol Visitors Center.  The facility is very nice, well thought out, well managed, and high tech.  I was completely impressed and pleased!

As I walked up the steps and passed by the doors that lead to the balcony of the Capitol where Presidents take their oath of office, I could feel the history of that building in that moment.  Needless to say, it was surreal.  I listened to the story of how George Washington set the cornerstone; how the Capital was built in part by slave labor (that information only recently released to the public), and then burned and built again; expanded and updated, and how one part was hand painted by three different men over many years in such a magnificent way that the paintings look like sculptures.  I was proud and impressed by what I learned and re-learned, what I saw and how I felt as a citizen in my Capitol building.

 

 

 

The District is filled with monuments and memorials to lives lost and courage, great men with even greater ideas, to hero’s and generals, to allies and history, to art and innovation.  I have been to DC probably 5 times before, but on this trip I was most impressed by the WWII Memorial and the Pentagon 9-11 Memorial.  Every time I have been to DC my emotions are rushed and my patriotism and gratitude grows greater.  The National Archives is where you can see the original documents that forged this nation; The Declaration of Independence; the original Constitution of the United States; and the Bill of Rights.  They sit in a protective vault that is free and open to the public, citizen or not.  DC is a very busy place as you can imagine and very secure.  The people who work in DC for the most part were nice and very knowledgeable about what they were doing; weather it was the shuttle van drivers, tour bus guides, security officers, Metro attendants, or busy restaurant employees. 

 

The Capitol tour begins with a fifteen minute movie that tells about the buildings history and purpose.  They speak of how compromise is the essence of how our government works both now and in the beginning and how compromise is mandated by the Constitution.

 

By definition compromise is:  agreement: a settlement of a dispute in which two or more sides agree to accept less than they originally wanted

Something accepted rather than wanted: something that somebody accepts because what was wanted is unattainable

 

Compromise is necessary for any relationship.  Weather it is a people, or couple, a business or organization; compromise is one of the keys to success.  So many times I have had what I thought was an excellent idea, maybe not perfect but certainly a doable option, but my husband would offer  an alternative option that I never even thought about and we work out a compromise together.  With the twins we compromised with what they wanted to do in DC and what I felt like they should do and see in DC. 

 

But how does compromise fit in with addiction? As a loved one of someone who suffers with addiction, I must accept the things that I cannot change, have the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.    Accepting what I cannot change is certainly a compromise and a very difficult compromise at best.  Do I compromise what I need to do and say with my addicted love one?  Yes, Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I don’t set strong and healthy boundaries for myself and I have to make changes and listen to others who can offer me advice.  Sometimes I don’t get it right the first time, and I have to make compromises and adjust.  When what I want is not obtainable, I must compromise, just as our nation’s law makers must do.  I struggle sometimes with not wanting to compromise because I am certain that my ideas are what’s best, but often I am wrong.    The attitude that I take, weather negative, positive, or indifferent, can fortify whatever it is that I am trying to achieve.   When indifferent or negative attitudes abound I try not to make any important decisions or compromises.  I wait until the next morning because in the mornings I feel the most optimistic and hopeful.

 

Just like those who came before us, and forged their way to find a new world, we get things wrong too.  Mistakes will be made in life, and that is as promising as death and taxes.  What is most telling is how we compromise, adjust, accept, forgive and change mistakes into triumphs and celebrations.  Our country has found a way to overcome oppression, civil war, world wars, depressions, and recessions.  Many are still working on ending hunger, homelessness, disease, brutality, religious freedom, and many other challenges that face us and people all over the world.  Humanity is a work in progress evolving toward a more perfect union.   

 

Washington DC is not one of the 50 States; it is our nation’s capital and sacred ground to me.  George Washington himself chose the sixty one square miles along the Potomac River northeast of Virginia as the location for the governing body of our new nation.  It really is a wonderful place to visit and for me it stands as a reminder that hope abides within the essence of humanity then and now.