EDMOND — We recently returned from a visit to the eastern United States. We spent a week on the outer banks of North Carolina and half a week touring American history sites. At Mount Vernon, we learned that George Washington built his mansion with wood planks faux treated to look like stone blocks. He felt that stone was too expensive for his purposes, so the wood itself was grooved and beveled to give the impression of grout lines, painted, and then sand was thrown on the wet paint to give a stone-like texture.

Washington himself seems to embody all that is unique and important in our American culture. His walled garden and conservatory were full of experiments. Potted citrus and other tropical plants were hauled in and out of doors to supply the mansion with the special touches necessary for entertaining guests. He raised an orchard of dozens of fruit trees in many varieties as he tried to find the most robust, productive types. He experimented with breeding animals and became a great proponent for the use of mules, which have the size and strength of horses and the stamina and resiliency of donkeys. He journaled that he believed it was the duty of wealthier land-holders to perform experiments in agricultural methods and products and share the results with other farmers who couldn’t afford to experiment.

Washington lost his first permanent tooth when he was 24, and though he took scrupulous care of his teeth they abandoned him until he had none. His dentist told him to fill his mouth with plaster and send the impression to him so he could make a good-fitting set of dentures. But every time a tooth would give up the ghost, the dentures had to be refitted. Washington’s most famous portrait, (which hangs in the Smithsonian) where his lower lip seems a little swollen was painted when he had a recent set of ill-fitting dentures and was in constant pain, though he never had a set of wooden teeth. He had at least 8 sets of dentures and they were made of human teeth and/or hippo ivory.

When George Washington was in residence at Mt. Vernon, he and Martha hosted approximately 600 overnight visitors a year. Many of those would stay longer than one night. Imagine feeling the obligation to host company every single day of the year! He was absent from Mt. Vernon for 8 years during the time of the Revolutionary War and his presidency, and Martha spent as much time with him as possible, visiting camps and bringing supplies to the struggling armies at George’s expense.

George decorated most of the rooms in Mt. Vernon in intense shades of green, blue and fuchsia, and furnished them with ornate, large-proportioned furniture. At 6’2” he was extremely tall for his generation, and his sense of scale reflects it. I doubt that tiny Martha’s feet reached the floor when she sat on the dining room chairs.

The master bedroom they shared was decorated by Martha in soft shades of misty blue and white and lighter, simpler furniture. Martha never entered that room again after George died there in his early 60s.

George Washington’s will freed all 350 of his slaves upon his death. Martha was wealthy independent of her husband, and so didn’t need to inherit anything from him. It’s a comment on human nature that a man with such grand views for the young nation, with a sense of justice and a lust for freedom, kept slaves and prospered by their labor. Even the original draft of the Declaration of Independence included a clause freeing all slaves and indentured servants, but the clause was removed. Though every other part of his history points to his pursuit of righteousness and freedom, he participated in this great evil. Though it was socially acceptable in the South, many statesmen and friends of the time such as John Adams spoke loud and long against slavery and refused to own any.

The overarching significance of our visit to Mt. Vernon was the sense that though he was one of the greatest men in history, he was still a man. He had pain in his mouth most of his adult life, gave up many years of comfort and ease in the cause of freedom, and indulged his personal sense of adventure with exploration and experiment. His temperament was genial, if occasionally indecisive.

Though he was unusual physically, he was probably no more intelligent than most of us. He became great because of his sense that he must do what he thought was right, regardless of the consequences. He pursued virtue but sometimes fell short.

As parents it’s easy to see children and ourselves as ordinary, but it is our duty to give our children a sense of their own potential. As we observe their unique talents and interests, we should encourage them to try new things while faithful to their personal values. If we can do this, we enable a new generation to stand for freedom and innovation and strong moral principles. Americans are common people with uncommon opportunity. What will we build?