The Presidential Inauguration 2009

Lilly Claire all warm and snuggly

Standing in front of the capital on Inauguration Day

People sitting on Port-a-Pottys

This is where we stood on Inauguration Day!

Old Town Alexandria and the frozen Potomac river

President George Bush landing at the White House

The Inaugural Celebration Concert

Savannah Grace, Jody and Lilly Claire in front of the White House

Before Jackson was ever even born, Jody and I discussed things that we wanted to expose our children to while they were growing up...and Presidential Inaugurations happened to be on that list! So, way before the actual election was decided, we booked our flights and hotel for Washington, D.C. Either way, we figured, January 20th 2009 was going to be a historical day...either the first female vice president or the first African American President.

We left for Washington on January 17th and spent a few days in the area before the Inauguration. The kids got to see the white house, the dinosaur bones at the Natural History museum, and Lincoln's hat at the American History museum. We spent a day in Old Town Alexandria and we joined the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for the Inauguration Celebration Concert. The energy of hope was palpable in Washington, D.C. Even though we didn't vote for Obama, we were able to put our political differences aside for a few days and celebrate our country, where all people are free and all people are equal.

On Inauguration Day, we joined the 2 million people who gathered in the National Mall to witness history being made. The ceremony was to start at 10:30am. We left our hotel around 9am, thinking that maybe by going a little late, we would miss the big crowd in the subway. We were able to get on the subway without much problem, but when we got off the subway at L'Enfant Plaza...it was a different story. We stood body to body for about 45 minutes...just trying to get out of the subway station! Even though it was hot and slightly irritating, people were so happy and nice! They were careful not to push our kids, and would let us go in front of them at times. This was the air of Washington the entire time we were there.

We finally made it to the Washington Monument area around 10:45. People were in the tops of trees, sitting on top of port-a-pottys, and seriously squishing in everywhere. Our view of the actual ceremony came in the form of a side view of a far away jumbo tron. However, in our minds, the journey to this moment was the destination, not merely the destination itself. Thank goodness we thought that...since we couldn't see a thing.

When Obama was sworn in, we cheered along with the rest of our fellow squished-in Americans, we listened while he spoke and then we high-tailed it out of there. Somehow, by the grace of God, we walked down a street that was lined with Metro buses. We ended up hopping on a bus and arriving back at the hotel within 30 minutes of the end of the ceremony. There was no need to even try to watch the parade. People who had bleacher seat tickets were not even making it thru the enormous lines! So we watched the parade from our comfy hotel room.

On Wednesday, when we arrived at the airport, over 2 hours early, we walked into a line that was approximately 1500 people long! People had been standing in line for 3 hours and were only half way thru the line! At this point, I was feeling hopeless and helpless and trying to plan a "next step". As we were standing in the long line, Jody decided that he would go and check things out closer to the front of the line. Several minutes later, I see Jody RUNNING thru the airport! When he gets to us, he says "Hurry, right now, I cut a deal!" Jody had gone to the front of the line and spoken with a US Air Employee and said something like, "Sir, we've got 3 little kids...what should we do?" The man sent him to an open kiosk and Jody was able to check in right then! Jody is my hero!

My hope is that someday, Jackson, Savannah Grace, and Lilly Claire will look back at this event and think about why their parents thought that it was so important that they be there. First of all, the fact that we should be so proud to live in a country that has arrived at a place in history where the color of your skin doesn't prohibit you from becoming anything you want to be. Secondly, that the people of America are much more the same than they are different...and that is worth celebrating. Thirdly, during this trip, we told Jackson and Savannah Grace several times that we didn't vote for Obama because we didn't agree with everything he wants to do. I want them to grow up and understand that our country needs strong, Christian people to be in government and that the idea of being a public servant is attainable to them, if they so choose.

So, as of the end of our trip, Jackson is contemplating becoming President, and Savannah Grace would like to be a puppy.