Bigger than me.

I thought I would have some witty, comic, crazy stuff to write about. Maybe some kind of what not to do while travelling with kids, or the hillarious bloopers of our family holiday. Unless I make stuff up though I have nothing but awe, and fabulous memories to tell you.

Our family trip was miraculous, fun, amazingly smooth and humbling. The children all behaved better than expected, and everyone had a fantastic time, other than all the kids missing the parent they were away from.

I will probably have to blog in instalments there is just so much to tell. For the most part I am amazed at how small my world was and is. I am amazed that I have allowed my world to be so small. I have always thought that Americans, kinda went overboard on pushing their history and patriotism. I just thought that they didn't have to be so loud about everything. I never took an interest in American history.

To be in D.C. and take part in the various memorials, and museums, the architecture, the pride, it was overwhelming and some of it very humbling.

Every memorial, every monument and every bit of historic architecture that I visited, was powerful. I began to realize that the man made borders that proclaimed, this was a neighbor countries history and stories, did not put a border up between me and the human race. The politics and the history as told by a nation, may not be mine, but the individual stories. Stories from people who struggled, who triumphed. People who fought against the majority for what was right is my Nation, my people, the Human Race and every bit of history, mine or another nations, is as important as my own family history is to me.

It took forever for me to blog, it has been a month since our vacation. I procrastinated because there was so much to write, and I didn't know how to organize my thoughts into something viable and something that I felt would contribute to other people. I still don't think I am quite there yet, I have said in the simplest form possible what this trip meant to me and to my family, but I just can't convey the overwhelming grandeur of what I learned.

I came away from the trip envious of America, not so much for their History, Canada has history too. I was envious of how they treasure and husband their history, for how they make their history so accesible. The presentation of American Art, History, Monuments and Memorials was so well done I was moved on a number of occasions. I wish my children could walk down their streets, the places we live and work, and see that there is history, greatness and a future to build based on and learned from the past.