Virginia: Day 2

Friday November 8, 2013

On Friday, Chris had to do some of his regular work day from the hotel room and we weren't due at the wedding rehearsal till 4:00. Keeping children cooped up and quiet in a hotel room sounded difficult and unpleasant at best, so I opted to venture out into the great city myself. No sense driving to the capitol of the Confederate South and failing to see anything of interest, right?

An anchor from a Confederate warship on a cold day: high of 58

After a hotel breakfast, I drove the kids the 22 miles to downtown Richmond, VA. I found it humorous to reflect that I'm anxious about "big adventures" close to home but ignorantly think I'll be perfectly competent when in unfamiliar cities. At home in Charlotte, I try to avoid ever going downtown because it's complicated to maneuver and park and I feel like such a tiny fish in a big pond. But here I confidently headed into downtown Richmond with four kids in tow and no husband to help me.

Real swords, wow!

We visited the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of Jefferson Davis--which was quite a bargain at only $15 entrance fee since children under age seven are free (and free parking with validation)!

The guided tour of the White House (the only way to see it--and no photos were allowed) began 15 minutes after we arrived, so I used those minutes to take everyone to the bathroom and to nurse the baby: one tip for success when maneuvering children by oneself is to try to anticipate needs in advance. Then I gave a pep talk about good museum behavior.

As the tour was beginning (and mine were the only children), I was considering that it was just possible I'd bitten off more than I could chew. The tour guide explained that we were to touch nothing in the White House with the one exception of the handrails on the very steep, spiral staircases. He said we were not even to lean up against or touch the walls. And once we were in each room of the White House, I couldn't just bolt if the children were ill-behaved because there were no other staff in the museum to escort us out, and we were supposed to stay with the tour guide.

My kids were so well-behaved! It was such a joy. Maybe God knew I needed a boost because behavior has been a real struggle lately. Just a couple days earlier, I endured a thirty-minute screaming tantrum through the grocery store (and yes, the reason why I didn't just exit with the children is a whole story for another time and place!), so I've had plenty of my embarrassing moments.

How could I resist this little sunbonnet for my girl?

We made our way through the 45-minute tour. John and Mary were fabulously silent and attentive. Joseph was on my back making the tiniest of baby peeps. Margaret did great for the first half, then started to melt down because Forgetful Mommy hadn't noticed that it was going on lunch time and I hadn't even given them mid-morning snacks. Margaret even began to tantrum on the floor, to cry, her flailing legs coming dangerously close to Confederate antiques. I focused all my attention on keeping her happy and hung at the back of the tour group, which meant my four- and six-year-olds were now completely out of my sight. Mary was even carrying my heavy diaper bag for me! I was praying that they were behaving meticulously with me not there to supervise.

Amazingly, they did beautifully and were interested in the tour. A grandfather was talking to me at the back of the group and was tickled with my two children: I had just clued in to the fact that he mistook these for my only two children when Mary walked up to me. He saw a carbon copy of my two-year-old and said with delight, "Is she yours too?!" And then when John walked up a minute later, he exclaimed with twinkles in his eyes, "Two daughters and two sons!" It was really nice to enjoy a stranger's pleasure instead of otherwise.

John in his new Confederate soldier cap

We took a break and ate snacks and penny candy in the White House garden before heading into the museum proper. It is a positively tiny museum, which I was quite pleased to discover because Margaret really couldn't take much more at that point. We walked the loop briskly and then stopped by the gift shop because I simply couldn't resist buying the sunbonnets for my girls.

While in the gift shop, an elderly couple approached me. They'd actually ridden on the elevator in from the parking garage, so had been walking near us for two hours at that point. The woman said, "Excuse me, but I just want to tell you how impressed I am with your children. My daughter has three and is hanging on by her fingernails." I told her that I am hanging on by my fingernails too and just to keep encouraging her daughter. Then she continued, "May I ask, are they homeschooled?" When I confirmed that they are, she said, "I just knew it!" and again complimented their good behavior. I'm just glad she saw us during those two hours and not various other hours when she might have asked if the children were escaped from the circus.

Then we trekked our way back through downtown streets (no one ran into the road!), through the eight-level parking garage (no one let go of my hands!), and drove the 22 miles back to the hotel (I didn't get lost!). It was such a joy and the kids all agreed that we have a lot more fun as a family when we all exercise self-discipline.