Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Day - January 20, 2009


I wrote this as a Facebook note on January 21, 2009, the day after Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States. Feeling a little inspired and nostalgic and hope to have a repeat of this priceless moment come January 2013 (I know the election is this November. I'm talking about the swearing in.)

I couldn't quite cry yesterday, even though the tears were thisclose. They just couldn't fight their way past the gi-normous grin on my face! I smiled so much you'd think I was standing there right beside the man! I just couldn't help it.

At work we took about 3 hours off to watch it on TV, and I just couldn't do anything afterwards. Or before (thank God for the CNN/Facebook hook-up!) I had to soak in the moments, great and small, of this historic day.

We drooled over how gorgeous and absolutely regal Michelle was in her lemon/olive/teal ensemble. We gushed over how adorable Malia and Sasha were as they smiled and waved.

I watched as he made his way down those steps at the Capitol, a never-before-seen look of nervousness/tension on his face. I watched as all my co-workers willed him to smile, and when he finally did, it was as if the sun had come out. We broke into spontaneous applause.

I forgave Aretha's voice. It wasn't at it's best to me, she was probably so emotional. I could feel that. I choked up when the instrumentalists played. I saw that exchange, where he turned to look at the quartet playing and his eyes stopped at Michelle. I saw when she reached out to squeeze his shoulder. I grinned when he fixed the block for Sasha to stand on so she wouldn't miss her Daddy being sworn in. "This is for you." I cussed when the Attorney General flubbed the oath. I smiled when Barack paused and they corrected it. "I, Barack Hussein Obama,..." Oh my GOD! We stood up and cheered.

The poem was not as impressive as I would have liked (in the moment. Seeing the words in print will be definitely more effective for me), but his SPEECH! It was like a good ol' Sunday morning sermon in some ways. I was nodding, smiling, saying "Yes." I might have even lifted my hand a couple times!

I listened and smiled through the benediction. When the Reverend said "Bless the angelic Malia and Sasha", Michelle looked over at them, probably wondering, "What angels?" I smiled.

I watched the parade and almost plotzed when I saw them come out of the car, "The Beast". It was beautiful to see them walking together, the way they held hands and when they separated, the way their hands automatically found each other. But I was a bit scared, truth be told. I loved when his high school alma mater marched by during the parade and he gave them the "hang loose" sign (you can take the boy out of Hawaii...). I missed the rest on the commute home, but I almost swooned as I saw them enter the Neighbourhood Ball together, Michelle absolutely stunning in that lovely ivory gown, her entire being aglow. "Just how good-looking is my wife?" Beautiful! He was very dapper in his classic tux, so handsome. "At last", I appreciated Beyonce's rendition of this classic. She's starting to grow on me, but I digress... The First Dance. I saw so much love there, such oneness.

The girls were said to be having a High School Musical movie night. I'm envious (yes, I love HSM too!). I fell asleep watching the recap after 10, but with a prayer on my heart that God guides and protects them all, that He works His will through this wonderful man that He has elevated to this position.

I have faith that everything will be alright. God Bless Barack Obama!





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