The day was surreal. My mom was determined to wander down to the festivities, not with any real idea of joining, but to people watch. So after breakfast, we bundled up and wandered 18 blocks towards the center of the city. A nice young man gave us pocket warmers, and the Kid’s hat, once a starfish, suddenly became a Statue of Liberty hat.
It’s always thrilling and disturbing to see your home town transformed. I suppose, living in D.C., we’re more used to it than most. The Fourth of July. The pomp and circumstance that surrounds the seat of government. But I’ve never seen the city so blocked off, rerouted, and mobile. In the morning, we sat in my parents’ top floor condo and watched people drift through the circle like so many leaves, all moving downhill, moving south, drawn by some magnetic force to join in the celebration that was forming.
For all that the Kid was hyper about Obama when the race was on, he was pretty nonchalant about the swearing in, today. The three of us stopped in a hotel lobby to watch the swearing in of our 44th president, and to hear his speech. What a speech. We have so much work to do. We can’t sit back and wait for someone else to do it, either. It’s up to us. What sort of world do we want to leave for our children? Can we turn it around? Do you feel the urgency, now?
We climbed back up to my parent’s place and ate soup, warming our ears and hands, and watched the people drift back the other way, north through the circle, now, rewinding back to their lives, their dreams.
Where were you today?
I am so jealous! I would have loved just to be in the same city. I bet it it was electrifying!
I streamed CNN.com LIVE at my desk all day at work.
I love hearing your city life in the East. It feels far away from our pseudo-summer here in California. Awesome speech and beautiful pictures out there. I was watching while getting ready for first day of classes at the college. My high school daughter watched it all in class.
How thrilling! Your little guy will have a tale to tell his own children.