Where I'm From

"That grass looks amazing!"

It was hard to get over how great the grass at the National Mall looked this morning.  I met up with three other humans and two other dogs for a socially distant walk along the mall.

"America's Front Yard" will always have a special place in my heart along with the Smithsonian museums that line its border.  You see, it was a clerk typist job in the Arts and Industries building that brought me to the area.

When I told my former boss at The Bank of Baltimore that I was moving south to the DC area she laughed.

"I shouldn't be surprised, you've been drinking coffee out of that Smithsonian mug for 6 months now."

The Smithsonian didn't turn out to be a career kind of position but the friends I made there did turn out to be life-changing.  Many sunny lunch hours were spent under a tree on the mall with my work peers.  For the most part, we had come to DC in search of the next thing.  In time, we would all find it.  One went on to a career in personal management, one found a career in law, and I found a career in education.

My five years there was a blip of a federal career but it was a time I'll always treasure.