Day one in Washington D.C.

As I signed off in my previous post, it was so great to see Tim last weekend.

I had a NASPA board meeting in Washington D.C. (We have three in-person meetings every year, the rest are via conference call.  The November/December meeting is always in D.C. at the NASPA offices.)

Tim and I timed our flights so that we arrived almost the same time into Reagan Airport, as well as left about the same time.  (It's a smaller airport than Dulles, and about 5 miles from my sister's house, versus a ride of about 45 minutes to/from Dulles.)  Tim arrived right before me, and was waiting in the non-ticketed area.  Wonderful. Almost surreal after a two month separation.

I try to truly appreciate the instant communication we have these days.  With Skype, we can talk and see each other. And emails are wonderfully convenient. And not that hand written letters aren't a lovely thing (thanks Tina!), as there is something extraordinary these days about the care and time taken to put pen to paper and write down thoughts, and then get that note in the mail. But I shudder at the thought of my computer going haywire and losing that technology tether!

Somehow, I wasn't as wonky as I thought I would be with jet lag. And thank goodness for that. We arrived Tuesday evening, and Wednesday was my planned day for padding, in case my body clock was backwards.  Did wake up way too early on Wednesday, but managed the day without walking into any walls ;-)  Tim and I had visited National Cathedral before, but he wanted to take more photos.

I absolutely love gothic cathedrals. The builders' tribute to God, reaching toward the sky; the light that makes the interior absolutely glow and shimmer when the sun streams through the colored glass; the vaulted ceilings and the flying buttresses ... for whatever reason they take my breath away.  And bonus is when we visit a cathedral (anywhere) and music accompanies the visit.  This time, one of the organist talked about the pipe organ and then played three different pieces. I had to sit and bask in the glow of both the colors on display and the music filling the space.

I will snag some photos from Tim and share them in another blog post. (Why I didn't download some from him when his computer was right next to mine, is a minor mystery.)

On a funny note, and tied to my earlier comment about technology ... at one point Tim and I were both on our laptops in different rooms at my sister's house, taking care of whatever ... and I hear the now-familiar Skype tune that someone is calling in. It's Tim.  I cracked up, and so did my sister. Tim says it was a Pavlovian response -- that he saw I was online and went for the Skype icon.