My Summer with the Brother

Greetings, blog readers. I sit here, watching the Olympians compete in track and field events. As some of you might be aware, I absolutely love the Olympics. You know those "Go World" commercials? The ones where Morgan Freeman narrates great Olympic moments and such? Well, every time I see those commercials I tear up. I kid you not. They get me every time. But this is not the point of my post. I want to tell you about how my potentially scariest first summer in the big city turned into one of the happiest summers in the big city. It's been my best DC summer yet (she says in a slightly facetious tone)!

I do love a good adventure, but I wasn't looking forward to moving to DC by myself. I didn't know where anything was. I didn't know where I wanted to live. I didn't really know anyone here. All these worries dissolved into a million tiny sparkles of joy when my brother said he would start his DC summer early by helping me move there mid-May. He was going to end up in the city anyway, since he had the I4RC to attend (see link at right for his DC blog), so he came to Lexington with me and helped me pack for my move. We loaded up the Uhaul and drove to Arlington, VA on a sunny Saturday in May. We sang camp songs, played car games, philosophized about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. We made plans for hanging out during the summer. We learned how to properly drive the Uhaul - blech.

We ended up in Arlington at the home of some friends who had kindly agreed to let me stay with them during the summer until I found a more permanent place to live. I didn't have to start my new job until the day after Memorial Day, so Barron and I had about two weeks to play. And play we did. We watched entire seasons of Arrested Development, Psych and 30 Rock. We saw a few movies. We met up with old friends and made new ones. We sight saw. In fact, Barron introduced me to my favorite museum - the National Gallery of Art. (Don't tell the Smithsonian. They don't own it.) What is my favorite feature of the art gallery, you ask? I'll tell you. The moving sidewalk that connects the East and West wings of the gallery. Oh, sure, the Monets and the Renoirs are breathtaking. But they don't cushion your weary feet. They don't facilitate hops and skips and casual bouncing as passers by laugh in your face and you laugh back, gleeful in your new found youth. But I digress. Back to the sight seeing. Barron and I explored Eastern Market, Georgetown, Chinatown, the Mall, the Barnes & Noble on 12th street, every Cosi in the area, and ESPN Zone. We shopped, we ate, we laughed, we slept in, we called Laurel. And it was good.

Watching soccer is one of the Ryans' favorite past times, and Barron and I sure did a lot of that this summer. I mean, with the Euro Cup on, how could we not? We also got the opportunity to go see our first MLS match between DC United and San Jose Earthquakes. That was such fun.

Now, you might be wondering how things worked out once Barron started his summer program and internship. I didn't get to see him everyday at that point, but we still hung out as often as possible and kept the good times rolling. I joined him and his I4RC buddies to play several rounds of Mafia on a few occasions. We had dinner together at least once a week. In short, I got to hang out with my brother all summer and it was great.

I can't imagine this summer without him here. He was such a blessing in my move and helping me figure out my way around the city. He showed me how to get a SmarTrip card for the metro. He helped me map my route between where I lived and where I worked. He helped me during my second move (more on that at a later date). I got to grow accustomed to life here without being overwhelmed by everything. Barron was with me every step of the way. So I think he set a good precedent for family in DC. With some good family/friend visitations during the next year (hint hint), the only thing fitting enough to round out the year is to have Laurel move here next summer when she gets home from Japan :). What? You didn't see that coming? Well, neither did she. I've just declared it to be so, and so it shalt be.

So that's my summer with the brother in a nutshell. I don't do very well when I don't get to see my family for a while, and this was a really big summer for the Ryans, what with me moving the farthest away I've ever been and Laurel moving the farthest away anyone's ever been. Barron helped make the transition so much smoother. Good summer, people. Good summer.

So there you have it. Have any questions? Make a comment and I'll try to answer them in another post. I hope you're enjoying the Olympics as much as I am. Take some time to enjoy a little healthy competition as people from so many nations coexist. It's a beautiful thing. Have a great week!

- This picture is of Barron and me in Eastern Market (home to one of the greatest bookstores ever) after church one Sunday. We were impressed with the picturesqueness of the street. Yes, that's a word.

- Scenes from future posts: the big move, my first DC visitors, life in the house.