It is usually very pleasant, save for the complaining she does when I am behind the wheel. I mean , I think I acquit myself rather well for someone who is not overly familiar with the quirkiness that is driving in the nations capital.
But even now I am starting to learn things like take the inner circle (inside lane on a two lane traffic circle), and go straight. Actual instructions given at one point on the ride, dear daughter, let me explain that it is not acceptable to go straight while taking a traffic circle.. U Turn in the middle of the street at travel speed any old time you want. Streets that become one way at 2:30 PM. And other such ridiculous motorized stunts. So a few days of negotiating that with the native daughter in the back seat telling me that I don't stop properly at stop signs or that I roll into crosswalks to see if another car approaches the intersection gets a little trying. DC Driving is a supreme test of that you can be certain.
But the visit was nice , for a brother from California was coming in to attend a conference and he would arrive a couple of days ahead, affording us a visit. Another sister was visiting friends in Virginia and would also come into town. Sometime back I made it a point to myself that I would try and connect with him if he was attending a conference back east as I do not see him that often. I has paid off , as we have had a couple of nice visits in DC and also in Boston.
So I played chauffeur and we visited and we got to see some sights, Mt. Vernon, a little of Old Town Alexandria, The Great Falls area of the Potomac and Arlington National Cemetery along with a little of the National Mall. The weather was superb and the visit and the food good.
But what was most interesting was the interaction of my siblings. They were the youngest two of our family and they were close in age , they grew up pretty much together, attending the same schools at the same point in time. They were growing up after the oldest of us had already moved out to college and beyond. So what came through to me was the closeness that they shared and their care for one another. It was nice to see, it is a closeness that they have and by virtue of their shared experiences is denied me. I said nothing to them of it, for I was just happy to observe. As I get older I find that there are things that just settle fine with me. A few days off with my wife is always nice, a visit with our daughter and watching the "babies" of our family in later life.
It is good to see that even in the era of disposable relationships that some stand the test of time and come through with pleasant memories. Their memories of growing up will not be coincident with my memories, as I was older and did not share the same, but I got a glimpse into some of their shared memories and it was nice to see.
And now I got to have a chance to make a memory of a long weekend visit in DC with some family members. And of course the memory of driving lessons from the backseat driver, who several days later admitted to having enjoyed our visit as she was chauffeured about town, fed and entertained.
Wasn't so bad. And for a few days I got to put away all of the other Washingtonian nonsense that spews forth like a ............