I got the sweet pleasure of hosting my mom in DC for a few days this week.

As I’ve grown, I have appreciated more and more about my mom. She’s Godly, wise, capable, hospitable, generous, and so much more. God has used her, not only to speak truth into my life on countless occasions, but also to show how well He provides. He gave me a birth mother that loves Him, loves His people, and loves me. She’s the kind of lady people want to be around. The kind that I relished at the thought of spending days with.

Her main reason for coming was to receive her Christmas present from me: attending a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. If you have never heard of this band, I feel utterly sorry for you and urge you to remedy that at your earliest convenience.

But first food, am I right? Thursday night, before rocking out, Mom treated me to a real meal (you know, the kind that isn’t served down a line and wrapped in a tortilla. The fancy kind). She was even sweet enough to choose a place with several seafood entrées with the intention of satisfying my ever-craving for seafood.

So, The Monocle it was.

I ate a delicious plate of shellfish linguine, surrounded by a cozy setting of brick walls and political quotes traced on the walls. I was able to resist eating my weight in their rosemary bread, but only just. After being contented by good food and better company, we were off.

These are the only photos I have of the night (and one of them was taken by my mom). Honestly, I was so enraptured by the band’s remarkable talent, the skill of the lights and pyrotechnics, and the wondrous experience to take any photos during the performance. I’ll treasure the mental pictures much more than the physical ones.

Friday, after work, I treated mom to a meal at La Loma. Their salsa is, by far, the best I have ever had at a Mexican restaurant and probably ever tasted in my life. To quote my mother, “I could just drink that stuff”. The experience certainly wasn’t affected poorly by the absolutely adorable building design. A well-baked cake isn’t hurt by a little frosting, eh?

Saturday was all about discoveries. My mom and I both share a love for the thrill of stepping outside the brink of what we know. This love came in the form of trying another new restaurant (sensing a pattern yet?) and spontaneously exploring an exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library. In our adventure, I tried my best to not eavesdrop on a pair of people signing to one another at the restaurant and met an old friend who shared some sage fashion advice.

All in all, I had a fantastic time. Memory-making with my mom is something I will never get tired of. Not just because the food is good or the experiences fun, but because we are together.

My mom is a gem. And the past few days, with her in them, have been made priceless.