Lincoln Memorial-closed as soon as I got there.
Frozen reflection pond.
Obama's viewing box for the parade.
This may be as close as I will ever get.
In front of the Capitol Building-where the action is going to be tomorrow.
1/19/09
I went down to the DC Mall to see what I could see. It was crazy. But awesome crazy. You can’t put millions of out of towners in one place and not have a little bit of chaos. I tried to go to the Lincoln Memorial, but it was closed. So, instead of battling crowds in museums or landmarks, I decided to just stay on the Mall and experience what was happening around me.
As I was walking around, I was overcome with emotion. I started thinking about the importance of this event and what it means for this nation and the world. The DC Mall is like a walk through American History-wars and presidents. And tomorrow, history will be made and all the millions of people that are in DC find tomorrow’s moment so important that they made the journey here to see it. Being here is more powerful than I imagined. I couldn’t help but think that I was part of something so much bigger than myself. It is almost too big to comprehend.
As the tears flowed and I looked at the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, I tried to find the source of the tears. It appears to be very complicated, but this is what I have figured out so far:
Not since a small child have I felt proud to be an American. In fact, I often felt shame, especially when in the company of people from other counties. But today, I am proud of what my country has done. The load of shame-that I didn’t even know I was carrying- has slightly lessened. I think the tears were part of that release.
The tears were also spurred by my beginning to understand of the power of hope. For 8 years (maybe even longer) I have had little hope in the leaders of this nation-and some other nations for that matter. But today, sitting with all those people walking by, hope could be felt in the air. Adults were talking to children about history and political policies and people were dancing to the music from yesterday’s concert. I didn’t even realize what I was missing when I had lost hope. Is it Obama that has brought the hope back or is it the people?
The children dancing around made me think about my students and the other children in my life. What will this moment mean for them? My mind stumbled upon a story my cousin told me about going to vote during her pregnancy. After voting she touched her belly in a moment of hope for her unborn baby. Last week she gave birth to baby Rowan. We all know there continues to be atrocities and violent injustices in the world. But I can’t help but hope, because of this moment in history, the injustices that Rowan will experience will be a little less. And he, in turn, will never be without hope.
I went down to the DC Mall to see what I could see. It was crazy. But awesome crazy. You can’t put millions of out of towners in one place and not have a little bit of chaos. I tried to go to the Lincoln Memorial, but it was closed. So, instead of battling crowds in museums or landmarks, I decided to just stay on the Mall and experience what was happening around me.
As I was walking around, I was overcome with emotion. I started thinking about the importance of this event and what it means for this nation and the world. The DC Mall is like a walk through American History-wars and presidents. And tomorrow, history will be made and all the millions of people that are in DC find tomorrow’s moment so important that they made the journey here to see it. Being here is more powerful than I imagined. I couldn’t help but think that I was part of something so much bigger than myself. It is almost too big to comprehend.
As the tears flowed and I looked at the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, I tried to find the source of the tears. It appears to be very complicated, but this is what I have figured out so far:
Not since a small child have I felt proud to be an American. In fact, I often felt shame, especially when in the company of people from other counties. But today, I am proud of what my country has done. The load of shame-that I didn’t even know I was carrying- has slightly lessened. I think the tears were part of that release.
The tears were also spurred by my beginning to understand of the power of hope. For 8 years (maybe even longer) I have had little hope in the leaders of this nation-and some other nations for that matter. But today, sitting with all those people walking by, hope could be felt in the air. Adults were talking to children about history and political policies and people were dancing to the music from yesterday’s concert. I didn’t even realize what I was missing when I had lost hope. Is it Obama that has brought the hope back or is it the people?
The children dancing around made me think about my students and the other children in my life. What will this moment mean for them? My mind stumbled upon a story my cousin told me about going to vote during her pregnancy. After voting she touched her belly in a moment of hope for her unborn baby. Last week she gave birth to baby Rowan. We all know there continues to be atrocities and violent injustices in the world. But I can’t help but hope, because of this moment in history, the injustices that Rowan will experience will be a little less. And he, in turn, will never be without hope.
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