We were actually in the DC area for an Easter service that my daughter was a part of, and the original plan was to tour DC on Saturday with her. Unfortunately she was not feeling well and decided to stay in bed. We, my husband, son, and I, ventured on sadly without her.  We opted to take the Metro, which by the way is the only way to travel around DC, saves the trouble of finding and paying for parking, and not having to deal with the dreaded Beltway is always a plus.

Washington was very crowded, lots of families–after all, it was Easter break. The weather was miserable, rainy and chilly. After a bit of walking we found some lunch (I wish we would have kept walking but that is a different post)–and afterwards we decided to head back to the Archives.  The rain had finally stopped and the sun started to peak through.  As we walked towards the museum it was still a bit chilly and husband put his hands in his jacket pockets.    All of a sudden he gets this look (the one that I know is not good) and says “oh my God”. Now I am thinking he has lost his wallet, the metro cards….so I am saying “what … what”. He pulls out a box cutter!  Turns out,  he had worn the jacket the other day when we went to Lowes to pick up an order and had taken the box cutter to use when tying the items to transport them in the truck. Likely story, can you see him explaining this to the security guards at the federal museum building? So at this point,  we decide the best thing to do is just throw it away in the nearest trash can. My husband failed to see the humor when I said, “you know, it does have your fingerprints on it, maybe we should wipe it off first”. I know, I know, I watch too much NCIS and Law and Order. Really, I was just joking.

As we approached the Archives building, the long line came into view and I could hear the collective sigh of my companions.  Being the gentlemen that they are, they felt that they could endure the sacrifice and allow me to realize my dream to see the Constitution.  Now I admit, I almost chose not to wait myself, but in the end, I am glad we chose to stay.  We waited in line over an hour outside the Archives building, and finally we were allowed to enter. Of course you go through security, much like the airport, and for anyone who has traveled with me, they know that I “look” very much like a terrorist. I must, I seem to always set the alarm off, or there is the guard that selects me to have the body scan–I don’t know why, but I don’t complain, these people have a huge responsibility to keep us safe. So you guessed it– the alarm went off–but this time it was not me! It was my son. I wanted to laugh, but thought I better not. I made it through with no problem, no need to tempt fate. They did the full wand on my son and at first could not figure out the problem. The alarm kept going off! Well it turned out to be his belt–you know the metal block kind you would buy at Hot Topic (I am sure it has a name but I am 40 something, how would I know). Talk about wardrobe malfunction!   My son was not scared, in fact I think he thought the experience kind of cool.  Me, well I am thinking I have passed my luck on to my child.   I guess we will see how it goes when we travel to Bermuda this summer. He definitely will not be packing that belt.

So we pass through security and head to the Rotunda, where the Constitution and the Declaration is displayed. Another line. This time we get the warning speech about flash photography, which I understand, and immediately hand the camera to my husband, let’s just say I am well known for my operator errors! The Rotunda is beautiful and almost majestic, befitting the documents held there. The lighting is low, to reduce the deterioration of the documents, and your eyes have to adjust a bit. The murals on the walls are of our Founding Fathers and I thought them to be quite impressive. There are guards positioned on both sides of the cases holding the documents. We went right to the Constitution and waited for our turn to view it up close. We were amazed at how faded it was, but then that is to be expected, it is over 200 years old. It was more faded at the bottom than the top, as was the case for Declaration of Independence.   I was excited that I could still see the signature of John Hancock. Funny, I seemed to have been the only one excited by that..oh well. There was a sense of awe in the place. We were not here to simply view pieces of paper, we were here in reverence, to have a glimpse at what our country is all about–lest we forget, as many have. At least that is what I am here.

Because we are the Clark family, and there is always a bit of adventure in our travels, there is a little more to tell. It is very difficult to get pictures of the documents. As I said, the lighting is very low and flash photography is not allowed. My husband was trying to get pictures for me and tried several options on my new camera to get a good shot. It was really not his fault, with the setting configuration he chose the flash option was positioned for off, but the flash went off. Right in front of the Constitution. Things got quite for a second, and the guard said something, we are still debating what he said, but my husband apologized and showed the guard the camera. My husband fixed the setting, no more flashes, and proceeded to take more pictures. No more problems. I felt bad about what happened, but it was unintentional.   I also remembered thinking how many people, particularly politicians, malign our treasured Constitution intentionally, it seemed to put our little mishap into perspective.

The remainder of the museum is very interesting, we were able to see some of it, and it is definitely worth a trip back to see the rest. It is wonderful that this exhibit is free to the public, you do not even have to be American.  There were people from other countries in line with us. It made me proud, that the interest was there, the respect and reverence was there, so many people of all ages and races, waiting in a long line together on a Saturday afternoon, for a glimpse of how it all started–this dream called America, The United States.

These days, when I work on my Genealogy project, I wish I would have hung on to the words a little more, remembered more about the names and places of my people in the stories my father and grandfather told.  But the search is part of the excitement, one of the reasons  I love the show History Detectives on PBS.  I always say,  “I want to be one of those guys when I grow up”.  Well, the growing up part is never going happen, not completely; I think kids enjoy life way too much to just let it all go and be an adult 24 – 7.  But I have decided to pursue my passion for history – I am going back to school!  When I left Old Dominion University  I was a Junior, majoring in Education.  I got offered a position making a bit more money than teachers make and after a few teaching practicums, decided to go for the money.  I have been back to school twice; the first time, I got married, and then the second, I got pregnant with my son.  I have been a little apprehensive as to what life changing event could happen if I go back to school a third time, but now that my children are older ( and have informed me that they do not need Mom around as much) I have decided to do something I have always wanted to do.  I register for my first class in a few weeks for summer session.  It is only an online course, I want to see if I can handle the course load before taking on the actual classroom.  I don’t see myself making loads of money after I graduate,  but eventually I hope to work with a historical association or property, and possibly I will even get to dress in period costume – much to the embarrassment of my kids! Who knows maybe I can even play History Detective….