There was no "Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day" when I was a kid. But seeing that we only lived a few blocks from the Capitol, I made it over to the offices where my parents worked from time to time.
Now, over forty years later, I'm the one dragging my kids through the halls of Congress, making sure we stop to see everyone who might know me or my wife.
The first time I brought my daughter to work, she was only four. Coloring books were needed to keep her occupied, though she did have fun with a reporter's notebook.
Now we just slap the temporary press passes on them and head to where the action is - like outside the Senate Chamber for a news conference in what's known as the Ohio Clock Corridor:
Then it was across the Capitol to the House Press Gallery to see some of my wife's former co-workers:
And of course we needed a little time to mug for the cameras in one of the press conference rooms used by Senators:
But by far the best part of the trip was down in the basement of the Capitol when we were having lunch.
It wasn't the smile on their faces while they were getting some chicken tenders and fries, or the bag of chips for a snack later on.
Instead, it was the people who came up to say hello who not only have known me for many years, but my wife as well.
They haven't seen her for almost nine years, but they could still remember her name and were so excited to see some of our kids.
The Capitol may often be filled with a lot of political blowhards from both parties, but it's also a family for many of us.
Later in the afternoon I was telling some people about my time on Capitol Hill, how my parents came here in 1959 for jobs as congressional staffers, how I went to my first Inaugural in 1969, my time as a Page and then a reporter.
It's a lot of fun to work here, but it's nice to bring the family along as well - one last photo of us stuffed in my booth in the attic of the U.S. Senate. Can't wait until next year.
