Updates and Dad

This has been a whirlwind month here at C'est la vie. Just got back from several days in DC, where I attended the ACS conference. It was a fantastic conference - I learned a ton about Voter ID laws (and their seriously unfortunate consequences), about privacy rights, constitutional law (ok, that one was a little over my head), and got to meet and hear from the likes of Senator Patrick Leahy, Wade Henderson, Elena Kagan, Pam Karlan, John Podesta, Eric Holder, and many more of the most brilliant and interesting legal minds of our country. I love being in a room full of smart people. I keep hoping some will soak in.

Being in DC is always a blast for me. Having spent one of my most memorable and fun summers there in college, I always enjoy going back, and am struck by how beautiful the city is. Flying into DCA affords gorgeous views of monuments and the Potomac, and the city is just so vibrant and alive. I'm lucky that my work takes me there at least once a year, and that I have good friends to visit when I go. Dinners at Corduroy and Tosca were divine. The highlight was the specialty drink at Corduroy, a refreshing combination of Hendricks gin and fresh cucumber juice. Yum.

Prior to DC, the husband and I were in Salisbury, CT for his high school reunion. That weekend warrants its own blog post, so I'll write more about that later. Suffice it to say, we had a blast, and I'm still tired.

This week is blissfully quiet and will give us a much-needed chance to relax before heading off to the first of many wedding weekends this summer. First up: Aaron and Kayt in Omaha - our first visit to the Cornhusker State.

Wrapping up, we celebrated Father's Day in style last night at Strong's over burgers and fried jalapenos, with both dads and a grandfather. I feel so lucky to have such an incredible father, and I hope he knows how much I learn from him and love him. I also lucked out in the father-in-law and grandfather-in-law categories. I hope they all felt celebrated and loved, and know how indispensible they are to our lives.

I'll leave you with a couple quotations about dear old dad...

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi," Atlantic Monthly, 1874

Never raise your hand to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected. ~Red Buttons