Transition.
Over the weekend I had a conversation
with a friend about the Inauguration. We spoke about how awesome it
would be to actually be there in Washington, but how we would be just
as happy to watch it from the warmth of our home/office. “But you
know, those people there will never forget where they were that day
and how they celebrated,” he said. His point left me wanting to reflect
a little. Because I know that while I won’t be in D.C. with 2 million others,
I will remember the historical significance of the inauguration and
my details of today.
It’s Tuesday morning: Ava
is coming off a respiratory virus as well as a 3 day weekend and it’s
very difficult to get her up and going. I try to encourage her by telling
her that today is an historic day; we have a new president and it’s
a turning point in America as we know it. Of course at 2 years old,
she hasn’t had the opportunity to become jaded and cynical under the
administration that she was born into. Yet, it’s important for her
to understand how much her vision of the world will be shaped by Obama’s
ideals and leadership. I mean after all she points to the American flag
and says “Obama-Obama-Obama” so she should celebrate in this transition!!!
She doesn’t care, rolls over and tells me “NO.” Ok, second
attempt: “Ava wake up, let’s go see your friends at school,” I
gently say. “NO!” she half cries, half screams. After 15 minutes of
struggle and more crying she gives in and let’s us wash her face and
change her diaper. Another 10 minutes after that she is finally
dressed, motrined up and ready to go. As we are on our way to
school, my thoughts are mostly, "got to get to work and logged into CNN
so that I don’t miss anything." Ava’s thoughts I could only
assume were similar.
Once inside her class, Ava
clings to me like the strongest tree monkey imaginable wrapping her
legs around mine and gripping my neck like it were the last time we
would ever see one another. The teachers were trying to comfort the
both of us, saying that this is typical after a long weekend, we’re
in a new location, etc… All I can think is: great, a 100% meltdown
at 7:45 a.m., chalk full of hitting, crying, and screaming. It’s
going to be tough to leave this situation without feeling guilty.
A whole 3 minutes later, I ditched the crying tree monkey and was blissfully on my way to work. The roads were clear, the sun was shining and things were smooth. I got logged in just in time to catch Obama address the nation. It is a New Day indeed.
It’s ironic that a difficult morning transitioned into feeling hopeful, peaceful and empowered by noon. My hope will be that Ava too had a good day after the tears as well.
Feeling all inspired and capable,
I will probably give 100% to my job today, only check facebook during
my lunch and be warm and fuzzy to all the students that give me a bad
time. Then I will go home tonight to my wonderful family, bake a chicken,
watch Obama’s inaugural speech again, comment on the inaugural fashion
and assure Ava that tomorrow will be an even better day than today.
Significant enough for me, and I am not freezing my butt off either.
