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.