thanks for the compliment, but …

Remember back in elementary school on Valentine’s Day when everyone passed out those playing card sized valentines? There would be a certain time on that day when we’d all walk around the classroom and distribute the valentines to our classmates. Invariably I would get valentines addressed to “Brain.” Looking back, that’s kind of cute and understandable.

Never did I imagine the same thing would be happening once I was in my thirties. No, we don’t pass out valentines at work. However, at least once per week I receive email addressed to Brain. If it didn’t happen consistently, I’d chalk it up to typos. But my email address contains the proper spelling of my name, so it really wouldn’t be too hard to verify if you’re unsure.

On a recent work trip, one of my teammates saw Brian the Brain in the SkyMall magazine. Seems only appropriate that I get one for my cube.

a growing appreciation

We’re in the midst of what is often referred to as Federal Holiday season. It’s a stretch of several months wherein there are multiple federal holidays. I won’t deny I enjoy the three day weekends. At the same time, having a break from the normal routine is enough to actually cause me to pay more attention to each holiday.

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. Our family didn’t have much planned, other than some catch-up work around the house and perhaps a nature hike to see some of the fall colors. Through the normalcy of the day, however, I was thankful for some reminders about the reason for this particular day of observance.

The first reminder involved friends of ours that lived across the street. We were getting to know them fairly well, and enjoying having someone close by that was raising a family, appreciated similar things in life, and shared many of our same values. It was great having some neighbors with which we could share tools, ladders, and toys, and even help each other with kid duty. However, he is in the military and last week they moved to Germany for three years. We’re selfishly disappointed we didn’t get to know them better, or have more time to spend with them. While I’m sure it will be an exciting time for their family, it is a huge sacrifice for them to leave friends and family and move to an unknown part of the world. And yet that’s a common occurrence around here, impacting all areas of life (housing market, church membership, friendships kids make at school, the number of home schoolers, etc.).

The second reminder came at the Prince William Forest Park, where we went to see some of the brilliant fall colors. It’s a gorgeous area, and definitely a great time of year to visit. While we saw various people throughout the park on the scenic drive, once we got out and walked down one of the paths, we had the place to ourselves. It was enjoyable time as a family (our dog, included). And though we seemed removed from all the noises and sights of everyday life, there was the ominous sound of artillery rounds coming from the neighboring Quantico base. It was hard to shake the fact there were men and women training for combat while we were out enjoying the colorful leaves.

It was an enjoyable Veteran’s Day, and living here in VA my appreciation for those willing to serve and sacrifice continues to deepen and grow.

Why can’t we use those lanes?

I was stuck in the usual Thursday-afternoons-during-the-summer traffic nastiness on my way home from work today. A honk from the car in the lane next to me grabbed my attention. I looked over, and the driver clearly wanted to talk with me. I paused my podcast, and rolled down my window.

“I’m from out of town. Why can’t we drive in those lanes?” he asked, pointing at the traffic flying by in the HOV lanes.

I simplified things and replied, “Those are for car pooling.”

“Oh,” he acknowledged. “So we have to stay in this all the way to Fredericksburg?” (Fredericksburg was still a good 20 miles south. We were easily averaging 15 miles an hour at this point– stop and go.)

“Yes, though the car pool lanes don’t go nearly that far.” I was trying to console him, as if to say it wouldn’t be all that great in the HOV lanes since they ended soon.

“Oh,” he acknowledged again. “So this should clear out as soon as those lanes merge, right?”

Who was I to squelch that glimmer of hope I heard in his question? “Sure, it should clear up a bit.” What else would you expect when 5 lanes of traffic consolidate into 3?! This didn’t seem like the type of discussion where I should lay out all the possible reasons traffic could easily get worse. And truthfully, traffic does generally pick up a bit after that merge due to limited on ramps for a while.

“Probably in 10 miles or so?” he wondered.

“Not nearly that long. Only a couple more miles.”

And with that, the conversation was over. I was glad the traffic did increase in speed a bit after the merge, so I didn’t appear to be a complete liar.  Only on I-95 do you have a chance to verbally welcome visitors to your state while commuting home.