i love

in celebration of july 31, the anniversary of the day my husband and i got married, this week’s blog posts will be about the ways we mark the passage of time.


installment eight || first ladies at the smithsonian

first ladies at the smithsonian, i love you

because you are an extraordinary example of conservation science, something of which i've only recently become aware.

because you mark time for us in a way we're used to in this country, by presidential administration, but you do it from a different perspective.

because you make me think that maybe grace coolidge was fun with her flapper dress and that it must have been very strange for jane findlay to come to washington to act as first lady, even though she wasn't married to william henry harrison.

because no one who does important things in the world does them without support, and the people in the support role deserve some recognition, too.

because you are fun.

because the last time i went to see you, you had welcomed a black woman into your ranks.

because someday when i take my daughter to see you, you will no longer be called the first ladies at the smithsonian, since a first gentleman will have joined you.