Good morning, DMV. It’s Tuesday, June 16.
For nine years, we lived in walking distance to our daughter’s schools.
In the early years, my husband and I would walk to drop her off in the morning and then pick her up, hanging out with other parents on the playground or the nearby bamboo forest to let the kids get their wiggles out before heading home.
We greeted our crossing guards by name. We saw familiar faces every morning.
There was the pandemic pause. Then when our daughter returned to school again, she walked with the neighborhood kids — no parents. The ones who lived furthest from school trudged up the hill to catch my daughter; they’d carry on to pick up a few more kids, then they’d make their way to school.
Yesterday, after my daughter’s middle school promotion ceremony, a neighborhood friend whose twins are also moving on to high school pointed out that the days of walking to school are over. Their new schools are a fair bus ride away.
And it struck me: Our children are fledging.
For the past several years, my daughter was hopping around the nest, always near me and my husband. Now she’s venturing further afield, testing out greater distances away.
Thankfully, the human fledgling phase lasts far longer than the avian. Because I’m not ready to let her go.
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📰 News around the DMV
Noncitizens can vote in D.C.'s local election, but many are afraid (The 51st/El Tiempo Latino)
D.C.’s 90-degree days are piling up fast (Capital Weather)
🎵 Things to do
How to mark Juneteenth around D.C. (The 51st)
There’s another D.C. Sing-Along at 7 p.m. Friday at Seekers Church near the Takoma Metro station. The sing-along does not have any religious aspect or affiliation; the organizers are just using the church as an event space. Details here.
📷 Your joy
(Molly Starkenburg)
Molly Starkenburg, 26, of Silver Spring, Maryland, captured this image on the afternoon of June 9.
“This is one of the four catbird fledglings who is about to leave the nest,” Molly wrote in her submission.
“We had a catbird build their nest in our holly bush right in front of the house, and I got to see all four babies grow up.”
The sky is dark because of the new moon. Have you photographed the night sky? We are nearing the summer solstice. How will you celebrate? Share your photos of midsummer life in the DMV here.
🗳️ Happy election day, D.C.!
