Sunday, January 15, 2012

Live from the DMV

That would be the DC-Maryland-Virginia region of the country, not the Dept of Motor Vehicles in case anyone is confused. I've been on a fun little mini holiday this past week, hanging out with my daughter in Washington D.C. Inside shopping malls in Washington D.C. might be more accurate, but it's all been fun. We like to shop and spent most of Saturday doing just that. In fact, I think I may have accidentally treated her to a new winter work wardrobe. I'd only planned to get her a couple pair of nice trousers for work but when you are this adorable every single thing you try on is adorable too. She has a job that requires a certain level of dress and since this is her first winter in the big city she truly did need to update her closet and it was fun to help.

Every good shopper knows you need a break to rest your feet now and then so we sat down on a bench in the mall to have a cup of tea and watch the world go by. As we sat there talking we noticed three men in suits walking closely behind two teenage girls. I don't mean that in a creepy way. The message they were sending was more like 'come too close and you'll regret it'. The 'suits' were wearing lapel pins and ear pieces and we knew right away they were Secret Service. Really, who wouldn't notice three men walking around the mall in suits in the middle of a Saturday afternoon?

Daughter1 said maybe it was one of the Obama girls so really subtle like, ahem, she followed them into Brookstone. She had her trusty phone camera at the ready and I texted her not to get arrested. She's used to my paranoia so she just laughed and was back a minute later saying it definitely was not a member of the first family. We could see the 'suits' placed in and around the store entrance and we knew it was somebody. Naturally we felt an urgent need to look at pillows in Brookstone. Come on now, you know you'd have done the same. Once I got a look at the face of the 'dad' with the girls I knew it was Eric Holder (US Attorney General). I imagine the Secret Service has to spend a lot of time doing stuff like this, traipsing around a mall in a suit on a Saturday afternoon. I imagine too, if you're in that line of work, a boring day is also a very good day.

After our little escapade we went to see a movie-Beauty and the Beast. Don't judge-we weren't the only people over the age of 8 in the theatre. That movie was a favorite in our house back in the day and it's every bit as good 20 years later. We picked up on a few of the little details we didn't notice way back when and decided even a cartoon set in a small French village makes us long for the provincial life. I love the message in this tale as old as time. Belle loves books and she knows that what's on the inside of a person matters most. We might have sung the songs all the way home....

'I want adventure in the great wide somewhere...I want it more than I can say...'.

Sigh.
Daughter1 and I agreed we have a whole lot in common with Belle.

16 comments:

  1. Such a fun weekend! I'm sure your daughter will appreciate and enjoy the new additions to her winter wardrobe, too :)

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  2. I am super impressed with you. Not only do I not know the name of the Attorney General, I certainly would not recognize his face!

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  3. You mean that we pay for Secret Service so that Eric Holder can take his kids shopping? I wonder how many other cabinet members get SS? Probably all of them. There have been times I wished for back up myself. Like when I was mugged 24 years ago!

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  4. What a wonderful vacation: DC, which is one of my favorite places, adorable daughter, and Beauty and the Beast (my daughter and I watched it hundreds of times when she was younger and we would have been in the theater with you). The Secret Service sighting also sounds like fun. I'm sure you're right that a boring day is a good day for them.

    There is a line from The West Wing tv show, spoken by a female SS agent protecting the president's daughter: "I'm the girl who's job it is to jump in front of the bullet. I like it when she stays in and watches movies."

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  5. What a lovely and fun day. Thanks for sharing it with us. Almost made me giggle.

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  6. Oh boy, I can relate to having an adorable daughter and having a hard time not buying her the clothes she tries on and looks sooo cute in! Thanks to this post, I have an urge to visit her and buy her clothes. Is it a good thing she's a 7 hour drive away??
    Oh, and I would have done the same thing with the Secret Service. Either that, or I would have been terrified I'd breathe wrong and end up in a federal prison. :)

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  7. What a memorable weekend! Glad you clarified that the men in suits following teenage girls was not in a creepy way. I was saying "ewww" about that and was expecting that you and Daughter1 decided to get up and follow "nonchalantly" the men who were following the girls. Whew!

    Clever take on the letters "DMV," too, friend. :) I could only imagine how exciting a post from the Dept of Motor Vehicles could be, but knowing you, it'd be a funny observation in people-watching and the imaginative use of a whole lot of sittin' time!

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  8. That sounds like you and your daughter have had an interesting and wonderful vacation together! Thanks for sharing!

    http://coffeecupchristianity.blogspot.com/

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  9. I have not seen Beauty and the Beast. Having boys, I did miss the Disney princesses. Sounds like you two had a great day!

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  10. Fun Week! I still find myself purchasing 'fill in' clothes for Son #1 even though technically he's out on his own now.
    And don't even get me started on the girl child's 'needs'. Lucky for me I only have one of those!
    How does one turn that off?


    Hmm.

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  11. Hope you are having a great time. We saw those men with earpieces last spring break at the beach in Grand Cayman... turns out Bill Clinton was taking a stroll by the water. The SS men sure looked out of place wearing dress shoes on the beach! Teehee.

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  12. Beauty and Beast is my all-time favorite Disney movie. Tangled as runner up. I remember going to the movies to see Beauty and the Beast the first time. The coloring in the beginning was like no other (at the time). I have no issue with being 43 and going to see the movie without kids! Glad to hear you got to spend time with your daughter.

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  13. Sounds like a great weekend! Glad you are enjoying some fun times with daughter.

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  14. OH, my daughter and I have had such fun clothes shopping all over this country. What memories!

    And, yes, I would have had my nose right up in those secret service men's business in a heartbeat. Curiousity killed the cat!

    Enjoyed sharing in your weekend!

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  15. Sounds like your having a wonderful time. Love the secret service excitement. I always go to children's movie, they are the best!

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  16. Who would've known that Eric Holder's daughters would need/rate secret service?
    I LOVE Beauty & the Beast! It has to be my all time favorite Disney movie, but I don't think I'm going to spend money to go see it in the theater.

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