Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Francis Nolan

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment. My doctor is in Maryland so whenever I have an appointment there I have to plan a whole day off of work (it's a 3-4 hour drive each way). I was smart and scheduled this appointment for valentines day and Casey and I got to spent part of the day exploring Baltimore. After my appointment we walked around the city. We like New York (and actually maybe even LA) better. But Baltimore (and most east coast cities) is cool because the buildings are old and beautiful an made of brick. Bricks don't stand up well in earthquakes so CA only has boring looking buildings or buildings with brick facades (NOT THE SAME). I have been totally smitten with the beautiful brick that I have seen this year.

Case and I decided to go visit the gravesite of Edgar Allan Poe. I really like old cemeteries but Casey finds them a little freaky. We saw Edgar's grave and monument, and also the graves of his wife/cousin, grandfather and mother in law. I thought the cemetery was beautiful. It was a cold morning but the sun was out and it gave everything such a nice glow.

We thought this grave for A. Fridge was funny. A. Boy and noticed it right away and showed it to A. Girl.

After the cemetery we decided to return home and order in. We got Italian food from a delicious place that we walk past every day called Saggios. YUM.

On our road trip we listened to books on cd to help keep us awake and alert while driving. We first listened to Eat Pray Love which we finished in Alabama, and then purchased A Tree Grows in Brooklyn from a bookstore there. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was a lot longer than Eat Pray Love and we weren't able to finish it by the time we got to New York. So yesterday we were finally able to finish up the story on the way home from Baltimore.

One of my favorite thoughts from the story came yesterday as we were driving home and it caused Casey and I both to stop listening to the book and think about what was just said. When we both came to we had to rewind it and admit that we hasn't been listening.

The thought was spoken by Francie Nolan's grandmother, Mary Rommely. She told Francie that she should see EVERY THING as though its either the first time or the last time that she has seen it. THAT is what I try to do, put into words! I want to cherish everything around me. It is very easy to cherish the people around me, or the place I am in, but I want to notice and fall in love with the mossy bricks, fallen leaves, bare branched and shivering trees and the little bug carrying home a snack for his family. I want to notice the patterns made by the chewing gum spots on the sidewalk and the window displays of the stores I walk by and the size of people's feet on the subway.

I want to be a person who loves and appreciates every last thing as though it is the first or last time I will see it.