Inauguration 2009

Posted by Wade

I am proud to be the first guest blogger on 3greenwoodgirls, I hope I am found worthy to participate in the future.

It has now been a month since my unbelievable trip to Washington DC for the inauguration of Barack Obama. The trip was a surprise Christmas present from Meg and included fabulous travel partners; the Thomas family. It was an amazing time to be in DC, and I've had a hard time putting my experiences into words. I think what struck me most deeply was how meaningful it was for black families, many of whom came from all over the country to see the inauguration first hand. On the train ride home that Tuesday I was sitting next to one of these families. An older man said, "When I was younger I used to ask my friends do you think we will ever see a black president? We always said no way, not in my lifetime. I never thought it would happen ... but today I saw it, in person". It was so inspiring to see thousands of black grandmothers and granddaughters dressed up in their fanciest Sunday hats and coats to show respect for the symbolic occasion. The day after the inauguration we were at the White House where a dad was talking to his boy about the same age as Sophie. He said, "Did you know that's the house President Obama lives in?" the boy turned to him and said "Barack Obama lives there? That's a nice house!"

I was told from the time I was little that I can accomplish anything if I try hard enough. But to a large group of people in this country, the term anything is rhetorical. While that may still be the case for far too many (women, Mormons among others), that symbolically changed last month.

While race was on my mind a lot that week, there were many other feelings too. I felt a tangible change in the air. A change toward more optimism, less fear; more inclusion, less polarity; more pragmatism, less absolutism; more transparency, less secrecy. I feel the next four years will bring more respect, compassion, equality, tolerance, diplomacy, trust, accountability and competence. As clichéd as it sounds, I feel hopeful. While I’ve been accused on more than one occasion of hero-worshiping, I am cautious. I know we must not expect one person to swoop in and save everything, and President Obama cannot and will not do that. What I believe he can do is be a catalyst to motivate each of us to do more. To be more responsible in our own families, but also to our community, nation and world. I am excited and proud to have a president who speaks without insulting my intelligence, one who values cooperation and unity, and I am grateful that I got to see President Obama in person!

When I got home I put together a couple of youtube videos of our trip. (If you want to watch in full-screen be sure to click on the HQ icon in the bottom right corner of the video).

The first (14 minutes split into 2 parts) is a montage of our day on the National Mall, which began before 4:00 AM. I inserted news clips into our home video to get extra perspective.

As though the day itself wasn't momentous enough, McKay decided to make it more so by proposing to his girlfriend Stephanie.

The final clip is a slideshow of our day in DC.

Winter Math

Take...

Three crazy girls + huge tubes + a big snowy hill + a little hot chocolate

and that equals = a good, GOOD, day!

My kind of guy...

So, if you're in the mood for a little irreverent humor, and I mean the Mormon kind (which, I myself enjoy from time to time), you should check out this blog.
http://myregisblog.blogspot.com/
Really, it's one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

But, here is my disclaimer: If you do not enjoy laughing at yourself, making fun of yourself, or seeing humor in otherwise serious things...do not proceed.

Thanks to Sarah, my friend, fellow Democrat, and swimming teacher, for the recommendation!

Well, that was WEIRD...

So, there I was...
(that's for Bruce)

Inauguration morning. I'm sitting with my kids watching for Dad on TV, lounging in our jammies, and just generally enjoying ourselves. I get a call from my friend, who we will call "Brenda". Her one year old was feeling cranky and needed to get out, so could they stop by and say Hi? "Of course!", I say, warning her that we are still in our jammies and that the house is a mess. "Brenda", her 6 year old son "Noah", and her 1 year old "Reagan" come over and we have a lovely visit. We discuss the inauguration ("Brenda" is a republican and was having a rough day), our trip to St. George (she got all of the details from the girls), and just chit chatted as mommies do. When it got time for them to go, "Noah" was not interested in leaving so we invited him to stay a little longer. "Brenda" left to change a diaper and put a 1 year old down for a nap.

So, fast forward about 15 minutes. The doorbell rings. I go look through the window and see "Brenda" on the porch holding "Reagan". I open the door and see that "Brenda" has been crying, and still is. And, she has the most terrifying look in her eyes that I have ever seen.
She looks at me and says (very scared and pathetically), "Is Noah here?"
I say "Yes, remember you left him here to play."

And, she says to me..."was I HERE this morning?"

So, at this point, I look at her and think, my friend is going crazy. Really seriously, my friend is going CRAZY!

I look at Brenda and say, "I think you'd better come inside and sit down."

And that's when things got very strange. "Brenda" starts telling me that she cannot remember anything that happened that morning. She couldn't remember being at my house at all.
Nothing. Nada. Zip.
She had gotten home, started changing "Reagan's" diaper and then suddenly, she couldn't find "Noah". She started running panicked through her house looking for him. She finally called her husband, "Aaron", who (very confusedly) reminded "Brenda" that she had been at my house and maybe he was there. So, she jumped in the car and dashed to my house.

And, then she started to flip out. She was absolutely terrified. She kept repeating, "Was I HERE this morning? Did WE talk? Did I talk to your KIDS." She had "crazy eyes".

Let me tell you about "crazy eyes". It's the looks in someone's eyes when they feel absolutely out of control. It is not a look that I ever, EVER, want to see in someone's eyes again.

So, I keep trying to keep "Brenda" calm (lest we forget that the house is full of 5 small children who are progressively getting more and more freaked out). Poor "Noah" keeps coming in the room saying, "Are you OK Mommy? What's wrong Mommy?" And, I, in all my wisdom, just keep saying, "umm, go play!"

I keep telling Brenda to calm down and we'll figure this out. She keeps asking me, "Is it really Tuesday?" As the kids keep coming in and out of the room wondering what in the heck is going on, she keeps asking them the same questions they had already answered during her first (sane) visit. Good old Sophie, totally aware that something was up, stays calm and repeats word for word the stories she had already told.

So then "Brenda" starts to get very affectionate, telling me that she's "missed me" and "feels like I haven't seen you for so long". She started stroking my hair and rubbing my back. At this point, I start thinking to myself, "I am watching my friend go crazy right in front of my eyes and I'm going to be the last one who saw her sane!" Not a happy thought. Plus, I was a little worried that she might touch me inappropriately (you never know with crazy people).

Eventually, "Brenda's" husband "Aaron" and her father-in-law arrive and we decide that an urgent care probably isn't the best place to take a crazy woman. So "Aaron" takes her to the Emergency Room where after MRIs (they thought, like me, that she was having a stroke) and tests they determined that "Brenda" was suffering from Global Transient Amnesia.

Now, I know that sounds made up. It does to me too. But if you search it on the Mayo Clinic website and look at the symptoms, it is EXACTLY what happened to "Brenda". A totally temporary, short-lived, short-term memory, amnesia. No side-effects, no record of it ever happening to the same person twice.
It just happens.
She was home from the hospital 3 hours later.
And she doesn't remember anything.
Lucky for her.

Me, not so much.

If you want, you can read her side of the story...
http://eastcoastwalkers.blogspot.com/2009/02/well-that-was-weird.html
But, I wouldn't trust her if I were you. She's a little locco!