We were in Washington D.C. last weekend, visiting our children and grandchildren in the District and Alexandria. Two of the immediate benefits of being vaccinated was being able to hug my daughter, who I hadn’t seen in over a year,  and hold my two-month-old granddaughter for the first time.

One of our drives took us right by the Capitol. At first I thought there was construction. Then I realized that the fencing — that would keep us from strolling on that grass as we had so often done — was the protective fence that had gone up after January 6th. It was one of the most upsetting visuals I had ever seen.

In a weekend filled with joy, we were quickly brought back to a sad reality.