How a Bill becomes a Law

Jillian was convinced that Megan needed some culture, and decreed we MUST go visit Washington D.C. and show Megan how our non-partisan, morally-rich, and charismatic public officials govern our great land. I voted to just show her this video.

Within days we were off to the nation's capital to visit the whole brood; John, Christine, Jacqui, Susan, Ed, and Carl. Whew. That's quite the handful of folk. Megan was happy to see her family and their new friends, but she was a bit dismayed that her Uncle John and Aunt Christine decided to wait until AFTER she left to adopt a dog. Oh well, perhaps they know how to draw her back for the next visit.

As for this trip though, she enjoyed her VIP status. First, there was a cornhole tournament with a rooftop view overlooking all of Arlington. We tried to get her to throw a few beanbags with us but she declared it a game for the peasantry and deigned to sully herself in such a manner.

In fact when we asked if she wanted to attend the DC United soccer match later that evening, she declared that sort of vulgarity would be improperly fitting a lady of her stature and that she would much rather have her grandma draw her a nice, warm bath and settle in for a quiet evening at home, without all the raucous debauchery of the soccer hooligans.

The next day, after a restful night's slumber the family embarked on a great voyage across the vast expanse of the Washington Mall. While the rest of us were enveloped in a sticky film of sweat, our little precious Megan rode regally under the cool shade of her stroller. When we came upon the White House and wanted to preserve this historic moment in our memories, where was our wee, little daughter? Why, asleep, refusing to disrupt her schedule to accommodate the minor inconveniences of her parent's whim.

What did she have time for? Her Aunt Jacqui's apartment. Of course. It was so fashionable and tastefully decorated. She loved the exquisite flowers and the beautiful stuffed animals. And in a moment of weakness, we caught her in a, how do you say, rather friendly moment with Aunt Jacqui's dog. When asked later about the incident, Megan refused comment saying that her and Spotty were just friends.

Because of the trauma of being caught in such an intimate moment, she tried to soothe herself with a remedy known to many ... ice cream. Well, not ice cream per se, that's much too, too, average for her tastes. No, we got gelato. Of course we did. However, even I will admit that the little girl has quite the palette because this gelato was absolutely fabulous. In fact, I think all of us rather enjoyed a taste of the sweeter things of life.

On her final day of the trip, she only had one thing left on her to do list. And all you other fashionistas reading this know what that is. SHOPPING. Well, we went to one of the mall meccas within our nation, Tyson's Corner Center. She rolled in there with her entourage and immediately went to work. Gymboree, H&M, Hanna Andersson, Janie and Jack, and The Children's Place. She tore that mall up.

And well, after all that stress a young princess has to blow off some energy some way right? Indoor PLAYLAND! Nothing but rubberized structures as far as the eye could see and lots of mini-people her size to run around with. This was her kingdom. She went through the tail of the Loch Ness Monster. She stood on an alphabet block and surveyed the land. She surfed the tree slide. All was right with the world.

Until

she

saw

the

train.

It was like the clouds had parted and standing before her was all of her favorite toys bundled together and put on steroids. She stumbled out of the play land several times to just gaze at its majesty and wonder what far off lands it would deliver her unto. Well, there was only one way to find out. And well, princesses do NOT travel alone. They need a porter. And since Jillian steadfastly refused to accompany her, it was her fearless father who accompanied her on the quest.

We traveled past many foreign lands; the Cinema Serengeti, the Food Court forests, and the and over to the Department Store depot. Megan's face during the trip was pure concentration. She would not make eye contact with Jacqui or Jillian and barely noticed me. Between you and me I think she was a teensy-bit scared and knowing the role of a good leader is to never show weakness, instead she went for quiet aloofness.

What a whirlwind visit for the little one. In fact, despite all the events we threw at her, she only had one little teensy-weensy snafu. And I wouldn't even write about it, if I didn't ALWAYS write about all the flowery, wonderful things she does. When she reads this in the future she needs to see the embarrassing mishaps along the way too.

Well, riding back to John and Christine's apartment in the back of Jacqui's car it becomes apparent to the occupants that Megan has, umm, had an accident in her diaper. No big deal. Until they get to the parking spot and it's evident it has escaped the diaper and has run all the way down her leg. Poor peanut. Because it's several hundred yards of distance to cover, we can't just carry her extended from us, so we sacrifice the stroller and, unfortunately, have to place her back down in her own mess again to get her upstairs and into the apartment. Somehow she cooperates well given the situation. Jillian got her into the tub and lovingly cleaned and bathed her back to a picture of perfection yet again. We all felt so badly for her. Thankfully she won't remember that event, and we graciously refrained from pictures of it.

So instead, we will, accentuate the positive, as they say and give a warm thank you to all of our hosts for the trip. It was a great experience and lots of fun. Even for a princess.