Today.

Today was a rainy day in DC. 
We made our way to the National Mall. As my mom and I shared an umbrella, my dad was singing in the light rain. He's surprisingly quirky. We dried off at The Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American History. Wonderful. I could spend days in there. So much to learn.

Thanks to the great folks at Congressman Nunez's office, we got a great tour of the US Capitol and Library of Congress. Inspiring to see so much history in one place. We walked through the original Supreme Court, used from 1810 to 1860. To think of the people who stepped up to the 'bar' and fought for justice, freedom, mercy in that room. 

Once our tour was finished, the rain started pouring. This was a fitting time to enjoy the gift shop. 

I saw this list posted near the postcards.

Jefferson's Ten Rules:

• Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
• Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
• Never spend money before you have earned it.
• Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.
• Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
• We seldom repent of having eaten too little. 
• Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 
• How much pain the evils cost us that never happened.
• Take things always by the smooth handle.
• When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to a hundred. 

The list was titled 'Jefferson's Ten Rules', but upon further investigating (ie. a quick google search) it was actually written by Jefferson to his granddaughter around 1825. Less 'ten commandments' and more like a grandpa passing on his wisdom to his baby girl. A few nuggets of sage advice, here.


We left the gift shop and were ready to brave the rains. Unlike Las Vegas, we realized that it wouldn't be letting up in five minutes. We braced ourselves and headed out, but just before we stepped outside, the kindest security guard waved me back in and reached into his lunch box and pulled out a tucked away plastic grocery bag for me to protect my bag with. 

As I stepped out onto Independence Ave and First Street, I realized that while independence is an amazing thing...interdependence is priceless.