Week One

I have been in Washington for almost a full week now, and even though I have only had a couple required events to attend, I feel like I haven't had a chance to really sit still. Moving in couldn't have been any simpler. Our apartment came fully stocked-which I hadn't expected-with everything from a new DVD player to sheets on the bed, so relocating to D.C. was easy enough.

My mother was here Wednesday through Sunday to help me get settled, and she kept me busy visiting a lot of attractions. It was nice to see some of the sights and get a feel for the city before starting my internship. And it was also nice to know that I have another 15 weeks to check everything out, so I don't have to worry about seeing it all at once in a tourist crash course.

Here I am at the Capitol with the statue of Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, founder of the prestigious Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

And here I am trying to touch a squirrel by the Lincoln Memorial. I just thought it was a goofy picture.

One of the most interesting experiences touring with my mother came when we took a trip to the Iowa Representative's office. My mother had a complaint that she felt she needed to voice, related to medical treatment at a Veterans Affairs office. As we rode the metro to the Capitol with another TCU guy in the Washington Center (Seth), my mother told him about a few times she'd had success contacting Iowan governmental officials over the years to help her resolve her various problems. Seth said something along the lines of, "A lot of people don't understand how democracy works, but your experiences are a good example of how it is supposed to work if you just get involved." As an embarrassed daughter, I often fail to see the lessons in my mom's outspoken ways, but this struck me as a really nice observation.

So we went to speak to the Iowa Representative, and although he wasn't there to personally speak to my mother, she did leave a detailed message with the man at the front desk. He was very polite and sounded sincere and concerned, which pleased my mother very much. But she should have quit while she was ahead. On our way out of the building, she passed the office of another Representative who happened to have the title of M.D. on the plaque behind his name. Excited by her success in the Iowa office, she decided that this representative would, naturally, also be interested to hear her problem--it was related to medical treatment! Unfortunately, this was not the case. As my mom left the office, she commented to me, "He could have at least pretended to take a note on what I said." You can't win them all.

Here is Karen Kay Christensen Messamer, my mother, active United States' constituent.