Five Years Ago

Tweet

Pin It

I’ve been wanting to play along with Lisa-Jo’s Five Minute Friday since I learned about it.

Since I’m sitting in a comfy hospital chair, cuddling a snoozing baby (who is being discharged today), I certainly have five minutes to spare.

Five Years Ago – February 2006

Five years ago, I had recently recovered from emergency gall bladder surgery.

I had needed help from my friends, but none were there for me. A lot of those relationships were coming to an end, damaged beyond repair.

I was sad. I felt betrayed.

Five years ago, my mom had a total knee replacement and had to move in to our basement for six weeks while she recovered.

I was happy to help out, but it was hard for my mom to need so much help.

The situation was stressful for all of us. Our relationships were strained.

Five years ago, Joe and I were not yet married, but we had been living together for a couple of months.

Five years ago, we took a mini vacation, a long weekend in Washington, DC. We thought it would be helpful to get away. We were right.

Have you ever been to Washington, DC in February?

It’s cold. It’s a bone-chilling cold that makes your muscles shiver inside your skin. Or it was that President’s Day weekend in 2006.

One benefit of being the only nutcases in town over a long, frigid weekend is that you can visit all of the famous landmarks, and there are no lines. We browsed exhibits at the Smithsonian museums until our feet ached. We saw the view from the Old Post Office Tower and the Washington Monument.

We walked windy, deserted streets in search of cheap food.

We didn’t find any.

Nothing is cheap in Washington, DC.

We bought scarves and hats from a street vendor.

And we made memories.

I’ll never forget Joe’s first subway ride, nor Mr. Rogers’ sweater, nor the flag that hung over the Pentagon on 9/11.

Nor will I forget the enormous, flaming drink we bought at a restaurant in Chinatown.

We shared that drink, the two of us, and we couldn’t drink even half of it.

We giggled the whole way back to our hotel, holding hands in the cold, cold night.

And we were warm for the only time that weekend.

 

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Fred Rogers, Knee replacement, marriage, Pentagon, relationships, smithsonian, Smithsonian Institution, United States, Washington DC, Washington's Birthday

This website uses affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.