Mom in DCity

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Nana: Paving the Way for Future Hoarders

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Remember all those cheesey 80s movies about going back in time? Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Back to the Future, and the like?

Well, going to visit Dave’s parents is kind of like being in one of these movies, but without  Michael J. Fox and Keanu Reeves.

We all laugh at Nana (behind her back, of course) for refusing to learn how to use a DVD player, text on a cell phone or work the digital thermostat. But it’s not just her allergic reaction to new technology that makes this place unique. Nana’s house is like walking into a time capsule that hasn’t changed since her kids were small.

Every toy, every book, every tiny piece of clothing is there. There are Barbies, board games, Slinkies, Snoopy’s Snow Cone Machine, and every original Berenstain Bear book. You name it and, it’s not only there, but in perfect working condition. All of her kids dress up clothes, their play clothes, their Christmas clothes. Every small item, all the way down to socks and hair bows.

Playing with pinwheels at Nana's
Model: Zana, Outfit: Vintage (circa 1982)

I’ll admit, the first time I saw the pileup of “junk,” it reminded me of a bad episode of Hoarders– especially compared to the house I grew up in. I come from a big family (my dad was one of 10 and my mom was one of 6), and  we were constantly sending our old toys and clothes to my cousins– especially the ones that lived in Kosovo. But also, my parents would give away the clothes off our backs– literally. They’d say things like:

  • “Give her that jacket. It will look great on her!”
  • “Go pack a bag of toys to send to so-and-so’s kids.”
  • “We’re out of Halloween candy; go get some toys out of your room for the trick-or-treaters.”
  • “You haven’t worn that shirt in weeks. Put it in the box for that girl that just moved into town.”
It wasn’t all bad. For one thing, my brothers and I were always getting new things to play with– but we could never get too attached.
Nana’s kids (Dave included) all seem to have acquired her nostalgic streak. And while I do enjoy a good trip back in time (especially if it’s in a Delorean), I won’t ever have those sentimental attachments.  Just like my parents, I am constantly giving things away, and wanting to buy new ones.
Is one healthier than the other? Well duh– if I’m doing it, we all know it’s healthier. But at my house, I’m definitely outnumbered. Lira and Zana are hoarders in training. The only way to get rid of something of theirs is by sneaking it out of the house. Everything is their favorite. “Mom! Why did you throw that away? It’s my favorite bubble gum wrapper!”
So what’s a purger like me supposed to do with all of these things? Our storage facility is running out of space (thanks in part to a certain someone’s He-Man castle and Star Wars action figures). We live on the Hill so there’s no such thing as a closet or a garage. I can only think of one place for all of these things to go… a place where they will never be lost, unappreciated or forgotten, a place so full of memories that it puts a nursing home to shame. You know the place: Nana’s house.

Ebenezers is Not for Scrooges

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Raise your hand if you like coffee!

Raise your hand if you like open spaces where you kids can run around while you relax!

Well if you like them, why don’t you marry them?!

I’m about to tell you a secret that will make you want to marry me. There’s this place, right on Capitol Hill where you can get a delicious caffeinated beverage and actually sit down and enjoy drinking it with your kids in tow.

It’s called Ebenezers Coffeehouse. You’ve probably heard of it; maybe you’ve even been there. But you haven’t done it the right way. How do I know? Because I’m there all the time and have never seen you there. I’ve almost never seen anyone there. Why? Because we hang out in the secret basement.

Perhaps it’s not exactly a secret to the hundreds of people who go there for meetings and concerts; but for families on the Hill, it must be a secret because I can’t think of any other reason why you wouldn’t all be there all the time.

Our weekend routine goes like this: grab our beverages, squeeze by the crowds of people upstairs and go to the basement. There, we have the entire place to ourselves. The girls drink hot chocolates, then play games, dance, sing, hula hoop, whatever their hearts desire– all while Dave and I enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee.

You can even hula hoop here
It is a staging ground for our weekend adventures. We go there first thing in the morning and decide what to do with the rest of our day. Sometimes we hang out there for hours, especially during cold winter days. There are TVs showing news or sports and a sound system that usually plays smooth jazz or R&B (which happens to be my fave). There are bathrooms and water fountains, so there’s no need to go upstairs. And ever time we’re there, we ask the same question, “why isn’t anybody else here?”

It's just us in here!
You can sit on soft leather chairs, in a booth, or in one of the many and stackable chairs. But don’t sit on those; they really need to be replaced, and a certain member of our family may or may not have had one collapse beneath him).

We’ve brought family and friends here, and it never disappoints. Occasionally, a rogue single person comes down hoping to get some work done. But my girls manage to scare them off fairly quickly. We even thought about renting the space for one of the girls’ birthday parties, but (just like everywhere else on the Hill) it was expensive.

Why am I telling you about this? Because I love you! Well, that and the fact that I can’t keep a secret. But now that you know, I’ll see you next weekend!

DC Must See: National Cathedral at Sunset

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Saturdays are all about packing in as many things as we can into the shortest amount of time possible. It’s exhausting. If I listed everything we did today, you’d feel tired. Wanna see?

  • Girls’ dance class
  • Trip to Target
  • Family Fun Day at a potential school for Zana
  • Quick lunch at a Metro 29 Diner
  • Summer camp orientation for Lira
  • 6-year-old’s birthday party
  • Visit with a friend traveling through town
  • Evening visit to the National Cathedral
  • Outdoor dinner and gelato at Pete’s APizza (that’s not a typo)

I told you!

I’m not sure why we live our lives this way, but we do– every single weekend. Some of the things on the list are repeats: We’ve been going to the same dance studio every Saturday for the past three years.

Tutu girls
Birthday parties (as we all know) are a weekly occurrence; in it’s a miracle we were only invited to one this weekend (it’s a curse being so gosh darn popular). Pete’s and 29 Diner are two of our local standbys.

But things like tonight’s sporadic trip to the National Cathedral to watch the sunset are why I love living in DCity.

Love the Gothic architecture
We are so blessed (you know, because we’re at a cathedral)  to have these opportunities right in our back yard. I remember coming to DC from Texas, as a kid. My parents dragged us to every monument and every museum (mostly against our will) during our 3-day weekend trips. And it wasn’t until I was older that I appreciated any of it. For my girls, it’s different. We go to the WWII Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Museums like some families go to Wal-Mart. They don’t think it’s a drag; it’s just what they’re used to doing. [Read more…]

It Ain’t Easy Being Green on Capitol Hill

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I may have mentioned before that my husband is a bit of a tree hugger. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a good tree– you just won’t ever see me picking up beer bottles on the side of the road to take home and put in our recycling bin.

Hopefully, my girls take after me and leave the trash alone. Why? Because of reports like this one today from the  Baltimore Police Department:

“Kids are putting Drano, tin foil, and a little water in plastic drink bottles and capping it up – leaving it on lawns, in mail boxes, in gardens, on driveways etc. just waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the rubbish, but you’ll never make it!!!

If the bottle is picked up, and the bottle is shaken even just a little – in about 30 seconds or less it builds up enough gas which then explodes with enough force to remove some of your extremities.”

You’ll never make it?!?! Remove some of your extremities?!?!

This sounds serious. The report went on to say that this isn’t just happening in Baltimore, but all over the area!

I’m not sure who’s responsible, but it sounds like “kids” to me. And it’s “kids” who seem to cause all of the problems in our area. It was “kids” who were shooting at one another as I was dropping off the girls at school one morning. It was “kids” who put a bullet hole in our window the week before we moved into our house. “Kids” sell drugs on our corner. “Kids” who drive so many people out of the neighborhood.

I hate to blame the neighborhood high school students (as if they ever actually go to school) for something they didn’t do; it just seems like something they would do based on what I’ve seen so many times before.

I know that young people everywhere are mischievous. My parents and the owners of The Magic Time Machine were more than a little unhappy with my brothers when they lit the trash can on fire in the restaurant bathroom. But those things are usually not the norm… and they certainly don’t cause people to move out of their homes to escape.

If I could name the top 3 reasons to leave Capitol Hill they would be:

  1. those “kids” on the corner
  2. the parking situation
  3. the Persistent Peggies (just kidding about this one, but they are annoying)

For families like ours who love our life here and want to stay, a lackadaisical attitude is not an option. We must stay informed and be each other’s watchful neighbors. We’re all in this together. So please, neighbors, watch my husband. If you see him kneeling down to pick up a soda bottle tell him to leave it alone and go hug a tree instead.

Like Father Like Daughter