An out of control day. Funny how many of my posts are starting out similar...since my family has been in town. :)
Today I got to work and pumped myself up for the day. My parents got to the office at 11:15ish, and around 11:40, we headed to the Capitol with Mr. Hall. They got to ride the subway from Rayburn to the Capitol, so that was pretty cool. We split off in the elevator because Mr. Hall had to go vote. We made it to the Members' Dining Hall and they went ahead and seated us.
The menu was a bit more extensive than it was last week for breakfast, and we just talked until Mr. Hall came back down. Turned out that somebody had objected during the vote, and wanted the specifics re-read, so he had come in to order a salad and then had to turn around and go back to vote.
I got a flatbread lunch and man, it was delicious. They really know what they're doing there in the Capitol when it comes to making food. Dad had a Cuban sandwich, and Nom got Alaskan salmon, but forgot to share a bite with me. Mr. Hall entertained from the time he got back to the time he had to run off to catch his plane back to Rockwall. We finished up, and headed back to the office.
Nom's friend, Carol, and her husband Rich, showed up at 1:15 to join them for their Capitol tour. We took pictures in Mr. Hall's office where they waited (and I restocked the fridge), until it was time to go at 1:45.
I let them know that it would probably be crazy in the Capitol, so everyone needed to stay close. Every time I turned around two of them would be 20ft behind the rest of us...EVERY. TIME.
We made it through the Crypt and Rotunda sections of the tour, but before we went down to check our phones in order to go to the Gallery, I pulled them to the side to show them the memorial plaque for United Flight 93.
Rich was a NYC firefighter that was called in on 9/11, so I knew this would be meaningful to them. I talked about how I had just watched United 93 a couple of weeks ago, thinking that it being almost 12 years later I could handle it. Nope. Bawled the whole time. My family was in NYC in Dec of 1999 with Carol and Rich; we stayed in the Mariott that was at the bottom of the World Trade Centers and walked through its lobby every day. It meant something. It still means something.
I looked over and Nom's eyes are red and teary. I smacked her and told her to get it together - because it made ME get teary. I told them we could head down now, but I just really wanted to make sure they saw it because we wouldn't be able to afterwards.
The red coat that sits by the plaque came over and told me that she was touched by how heartfelt I was in showing the plaque, so I explained to her why it meant so much to me. And she put us on the express elevator to show her appreciation. It was pretty awesome. I've always been taught to respect things and to get rewarded from it when you least expect it is always wonderful.
We hung out in the Gallery for awhile, and when we were heading down the stairs, I waved and said "Thanks again!" to the red coat, who stopped us, opened up the rope, and put us on the elevator again.
So. Awesome.
After the tour, it was pretty close to five...I saw Carol and Rich off and then went to We, the Pizza with Nom and Dad. The upstairs was really hot, so we opened the windows and hung out as we waited for our Spinach and Artichoke pizza. We'd all gotten salads too, but they came when the pizza came. It was all really good. I wish there had been more toppings, but it worked.
After dinner, Nom and Dad headed to their hotel, and I headed to TMH.
I passed out HARD at 8:30pm, and slept through until almost 11pm.
Hopefully I'll be able to pass out soon, because tomorrow is going to be a long day.
*Until Next Time!*
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