Presidents' Day

Washington by Steve Penley

Today we celebrate the birth of our first President, George Washington (though his actual birthday is tomorrow).  In fact, in Washington's home state (and mine, yay!) Virginia, this holiday is legally known as "George Washington Day."

This beautiful book was written by the wife of a former Vice President, Lynne Cheney.  That's cool.

But in most places, it's Presidents' Day and we celebrate the 44 men who have served as the United States' Commander in Chief.  

And they definitely deserve their own special day, because, let's face it:  Presidents are important.  Presidents are significant.  Presidents are, well, Presidents.  

And maybe because I spent almost a decade of my formative years living in or very near the nation's capital; or because I've attended a  Rose Garden signing ceremony (not bragging, just explaining);

Ronald Reagan (Nancy, too) in the Rose Garden with the World Series winning Dodgers.  I stood on my seat for this photo.

or, because I graduated from the university founded by Thomas Jefferson (still not bragging) or, most importantly, I've had the great privilege of meeting several  Presidents, including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton (okay, maybe bragging a little),  I have an extra special place in my heart for this holiday.

I was standing below on the the train platform when I took this photo (bragging).

Even without these special connections, I can't help but want to  celebrate today. 

So I have lots of Presidential stuff:

I bought these guys at the Dollar Store and I love them.  Don't they look imposing?  They're just 5 1/2 inches tall. 

And I have fun stuff too, like this:

Because while these guys were Presidents, they were also human and they made mistakes.

We also have these cool placemats which are used not just today but often.

We love the facts and biographical information on the reverse sides.  When we had a French foreign exchange student living with us two summers ago, she enjoyed reading the information on them and quizzing us.  (I'm fairly certain there are no placemats in France with Sarkozy, and definitely not Mitterrand, on them, so she was impressed or at least as impressed as any French person can be). 

Finally, if you haven't yet seen the HBO series on John Adams. as fast as your fingers can, navigate away from this silly blog, go to your Netflix account (if you have one) and add it to your queue.  It is a must see.  

For more immediate gratification and something in more recent history, watch this and of course, have a great Presidents' Day!