Proud to be an American

Favorite Vacation Moment

Washington, DC

by carolinemckay March 31, 2008

At the fountain with my mother and sister

We had walked absolutely everywhere and seen absolutely everything. Itbr/was the last day of my dadâ¬"s makeshift tour of Washington DC, and thebr/buildingsâ¬lavish granite with columns and inions and monuments andbr/plaquesâ¬were beginning to blend together. We were tired, and my dad allottedbr/ten minutes to take a break beside a fountain off the side of the street.br/br/The soft voices coming from the restaurant a hundred feet away slurredbr/together with the tentative rushing of the clear water. It was a hot day andbr/we were exhaustedâ¬my mother, sister and I delighted in putting our feet inbr/the water while my dad plotted with the map. My sister had her eyes closed,br/trying to black out the beating sun. My mother was stroking my hairbr/absent-mindedly as she told me how she hated hot weather, too.br/br/It wasnâ¬"t the beauty of the buildings or the city that made me proud to be bornbr/into my American family or proud to be an Americanâ¬it was the simple,br/innocent, unrecognized beauty of my family.