Loudmouth Mommy

This past weekend the National Review Institute held a summit in Washington, DC addressing the future of conservatism.  When we moved to the DC area I vowed to get involved in the local political scene and also take advantage of exciting events, so I was thrilled to be able to attend this three day conference.  I am a HUGE fan of National Review–I read the online magazine daily and receive a few of their e-mail newsletters–so my expectations for the summit were pretty high.  Well, after a devastating election this was like a balm for my battered spirit, and I came away refreshed and energized for the future.

The summit began on Friday at 5 and ended Sunday at 2, with back-to-back panels on everything from changing demographics to the morality of markets.  There were also speakers, interviews, and receptions.  My highlight was meeting my very favorite writer, Jay Nordlinger.  Faithful readers will remember the letter I wrote to Jay back in October, which he published a good deal of on The Corner (NRO’s blog).  When I introduced myself to him on Friday evening he remembered me and was incredibly gracious and interesting to talk to.  He even suggested we take a picture together to send to my friend William, who is also a huge Jay fan and had written to him in response to my letter.  I think that this picture, while terribly unflattering of me, accurately portrays how thrilled I was to meet Jay:

Another bright spot among many was meeting Jonah Goldberg, another of my favorite conservative thinkers.  I told him I felt like a pre-teen girl at a  Justin Bieber concert and he said that he described the summit to his wife as Comicon for political nerds.  Ha!  I think that’s about right.

The last NRI summit was in 2007 and I am *really* hoping that they don’t wait six years to host another one!

Last Friday was the 2013 March for Life in Washington, DC.  I had been looking forward to going for a long time, but after a week of illness in our house and a sudden, severe cold snap Ruby and I almost stayed home.  At the last minute I decided to head down to the Mall and am so glad we did.

It was bitter cold but the turnout was tremendous (500,00+).  There were throngs of young people in particular and the energy was palpable.  Ruby had a bit of a breakdown so we didn’t stay for the end of the rally or the march itself, but I am so glad to have been there at all.  Wandering among the crowd, I saw many disabled people and beautiful children with Down Syndrome, who are being aborted at a rate of approximately 90%.  I had to wipe tears from my eyes many times as I read simple, homemade signs giving thanks for the gift of life.  Next year I will take two precious babies with me to march for the millions who cannot.

Ruby was nice and snuggly warm bundled up in her stroller blanket:

I love GOProud:

These beautiful, happy people made me cry with their simple message of hope and redemption amidst despair: