Washington DC

Merry meet Friends,
Michelle here, bringing lots of love and light!

"The life you have left is a gift.  Cherish it.  Enjoy it now, to the fullest.  Do what matters, now." ....Kushandwizdom

"To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people just exist."...Oscar Wilde

My Mother's Day started with a trip to DC on the Greyhound Bus. I was headed there to share it with my daughter Tiffany, her fiance Mark, and his mother Priscilla.  The bus was packed.  Someone on the bus had a wheelchair which meant that 4 of the seats were not expanded out into seats.  This bus trip was uneventful; nothing crazy happened as in previous trips.  The bus left 30 minutes later than scheduled but Greyhound always makes up for it.  There was not much traffic so I settled into my seat and enjoyed the ride.  We arrived only 5 minutes later than the estimated arrival time. I stopped for a pretzel as I walked through Union Station to get to the Metro.  I was meeting Tiffany in order to join her at church. 

On one side of the station, the machines to purchase Metro cards were not working.  I went over to the other side and as I was trying to make a purchase, a man behind me spilled his coffee.  Some of it splashed onto my foot.  The attendant was furious because he now had to mop up the spill.  People certainly don't mind letting the public (which they serve) know how they feel.  Customer Service as a whole is sadly lacking these days.  I wiped my foot and continued to make the purchase, which I couldn't.  I moved to the next machine and was finally able to purchase a one ride Metro card.  In DC, different places have different fares.  One must look up the destination and purchase the amount required for that particular trip; unless one is purchasing a specific dollar amount for the ticket.  I had to make the purchase with my card because that machine wasn't taking cash.  This meant, because of my frustration, that I put in a dollar more than necessary for the fare.  I had the exact amount of cash out but in using the card didn't think clearly. Another reminder from the Universe to take a breath.

Tiffany had texted me detailed instructions as to which Metro to catch.  As I sat down to wait for the train, a man walked toward me and glanced in my direction.  He walked past me and then came back toward me.  He leaned down and said, "You're a very pretty girl."  I said, "Thank you, woman not girl, but thank you,"  He didn't hear me because he walked off after the first thank you.  I know at my age to be called "girl" may seem like a compliment but I was slightly offended.  Truth be told, compliments from men don't happen as often to "women of a certain age".  Yes, they happen but not as often from men.  So why was I offended?  The gentleman in question was an elderly Caucasian man; very nice looking I might add.  It was the girl, that offended me.  I felt, perhaps because of his age or my sensitivity; I'm not sure which, that this compliment was a throwback to the way the elderly Caucasian population sees African-Americans.  We've always been girls and boys, not men and women.  Normally I'm not that sensitive to such things.  I don't know what caused this reaction.  I told Tiffany my reaction and she understood.

After taking the two trains, I met Tiffany and we walked to Unity of Washington, DC.  I introduced Tiffany to Unity of Richmond some years ago and then to Unity of DC, one Mother's Day.  I like the church, the songs and Rev. Sylvia.  She spoke of unconditional love and how we humans still place "conditions" on our love.  I like to hear metaphysical talks and so I enjoyed it.  On the way out of the sanctuary I saw a woman from high school in Richmond.  We weren't friends but I recognized her from pictures because we have mutual friends.  We spoke for awhile, and I know that the meeting was Spirit ordained.  Unity had a grand reception downstairs and had we not been going to brunch, we would have partaken of those delicacies.  Tiffany and I went outside to wait for her fiance and his mother.  She lives an hour away so Mark picked her up in order for us to make the brunch reservations.

We had brunch reservations at Georgia Brown's.  While we waited, Tiffany, Priscilla and myself had bottomless Mimosas.  Mark had water.  We then sat down to a delicious brunch buffet.  The buffet price also included an entree to go.  Fantastic!  When brunch was over, Tiffany and Mark took Priscilla and me to our next surprise. We had reservations for facials and massages!  At first, I was skeptical about the facial because I only use natural products on my face.  The spa had organic products. Hurrah!  I'm so glad that I acquiesced and had the facial.  It was wonderful!  Even someone my age can learn something.  I never knew, for instance, that one should wash hands before washing one's face.  My girls knew but I didn't.  I guess I thought my hands were clean due to my cleansing product.  The esthetician (those who work in spas as opposed to aestheticians, those who work in medical settings) said my skin was healthy and that my neck was better than some twenty somethings. Of course that was good to hear!  Afterwards I rode with the group to take Priscilla home.  I liked her very much, which is a good thing since our children are marrying each other.  Mark called me Mom for the first time.  It was cute.

Mark and Tiffany then took me to Greyhound with a few minutes to spare!  The area with the buses was barricaded and so Tiffany and I had to walk through the station.  The ticket was purchased but had to be printed out.  Tiffany zoomed through Union station reminding me of the road runner and my mother!  I was trying to keep up but finally said to myself: "If I miss it, I miss it."  I lost sight of Tiffany and didn't know exactly where I was going. LAWD, Net and Debbie, in the words of Mac Brown: Aint I in it? LOL   I somehow managed to accidentally end up where I need to be. Tiffany called me to see where I was, and I said I don't know, (before I knew that it was the right place).  She saw me and started waving.  She had printed the ticket and was waiting by the bus. She handed me my bag, kissed me and was hesitant to leave because the driver wasn't there.  I told her to go on, I'd be fine,  Funny, how the children become the parents.  Tiffany didn't want me to take the train to meet her for church, when Mark couldn't pick me up because he had gone to get his mother.  I told her if I can take the train in NY alone, I can certainly do so in DC and I had before.  

The driver took about 15 -20 minutes before he boarded. Apparently he had not had a good day.  He was rude and never took my ticket!  He started giving all of the rules and then he heard music.  He stated that whomever was playing that music needed to turn it down because he nor passengers wanted to hear it.  When the request was ignored, he started walking toward the back.  He stopped at my seat and said to turn it off.  I replied that I wasn't playing music and he said well that game or whatever that is.  I said that I'm not doing anything. My phone was in the seat next to me and was lit.  I suppose when the music stopped, he realized it wasn't me because I never touched my phone.  The rest of the trip proceeded without incident until someone started the music again. He shouted at the culprit to turn it off.  The man obviously couldn't hear well because one could tell the music was from the back not the front where I sat.  We arrived exactly on time.  As I exited the bus, I handed the driver my ticket and explained that he never collected it.  He looked at it to see what was my destination and then thanked me by name.  Sure, now you're nice!

The week before Mother's Day on a Saturday while at work, I found out that Kay Jeweler's had diamond earrings and a diamond pendant on sale for friends and family appreciation day.  I called Jason and told him that I wanted those items for Mother's Day.  He asked his father to pick them up after saying, "Sure!"  During the week of Mother's Day I purchased two sterling silver rings.  When Donnie, my oldest, said that he would take me to dinner later in the week after my return from DC, I said, "You can actually pay for the rings I like".  He said, "Sure".  He gave me beautiful cards and still wants to take me to dinner.  Kiya gave me beautiful expressions of gratitude in her own words.  Tiffany said that I had gall to ask Jason and Donnie for what I wanted.  I don't think so.  I, personally, would rather give what the person wanted than to just give a gift. My children don't have to give me anything.  I have cooked dinner for many Mother's Day because they are the reason that I am a mother.  I love them fiercely!  I am happy that they love me because they don't have to at all.  I hope that all who nurtured had a great day as well.  

Later this week I will be in NY for my youngest son, Jason's birthday.  Tell you all about it next week.

Until next Sunday,
Merry part and merry meet again,
Blessed be,
Gypsi Mama Michelle