The day America changed forever! 2009 Inauguration

Last week almost at the 10th hour 4 of us decided to take the historic trip to Washington DC! At first I was very intimidated by the crowds and my vivid imagination was creating all sorts of crazy scenarios, but I decided to not allow my fears to cripple me and that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I didn't want to miss. However, those two days in DC tested my physical and emotional endurance, perseverance and faith.

We left on Sunday 1/18 in the afternoon. The drive to DC was surprisingly very easy...NO TRAFFIC! We rented a small apartment from a craigslist ad, it was no Hilton, but it had the necessities. When we arrived at the apartment, we hurried and unpacked the car then decided to venture out to Downtown DC. Once again there was not much traffic at all which was a nice surprise. We drove by the capital and took pictures, then headed over to the White House. It was very secure and baracaded off quite well...trust me, The Obamas are WELL protected. We saw the Monument, Lincoln Memorial and drove around more then we grabbed a bit to eat, went back to the apartment and settled in for the night. My sister's friend Antwain came by to hang out with us and he added a nice dimension of comedy and fun to our night. Our sleeping accommodations was very sparse, but we made the best of it.

Monday, 1/19 - We were discussing whether to do the Inauguration or Parade. My sister Aesha actually thought that we should split up and do both which was a good idea, but in the end we decided that the swearing in was the most important event, so the 4 of us agreed on the inauguration. We mapped out our day and decided to walk to the capital to get a closer look at everything and strategically map out where we can view all the festivities on Inauguration day. We were staying about 3 miles from the Capital which wasn't too bad of a walk. As we walked down Pennsylvania Avenue and saw the top of the Capital my excitement started mounting. We stopped at some local shops along the way and looked at the many vendors selling Obama Paraphernalia. As we got closer to the Capital the crowds thickened. We turned down Independence and suddenly there was a sea of people, everyone was lining up to pick up their tickets. We were somewhat green with envy wishing we were one of those ticket holders. At one point I saw a guy casually walking with the treasured yellow manilla envelope that held his ticket to the inauguration and I seriously thought about snatching it and running (LOL) but instead my conscience kicked in and I smiled at him as I walked by...he's lucky! LOL

We crossed the street and walked down a long path of port-a-potties and suddenly the path lead us to the front of the Capital as up close as we can possibly get. I stood there looking at the beautiful architecture and was awe struck by its beauty. There were flood lights illuminating the white structure that made it almost look heavenly and It was adorned with several hanging flags. My heart at that moment was so filled I wanted to cry. I'll be honest, I was never in my life this intrigued by seeing Washington, DC. As we made our way around, everything seemed to illuminate a beautiful light, the architecture fascinating, the streets filled with hope. Everywhere I went I wanted to see and learn more. I thought about President Barack and First Lady Michelle, wondering how they are feeling, what's going through their minds...living vicariously through them.

After an hour, we made our way down toward the monument to see where us "non-ticket" holders would be standing. When we arrived to the area, I was a bit disappointed but still happy that there was a possibility of a clear view. We mapped out an area we were hopeful to stand, took more pictures then decided to head back to the apartment so we can get rest for the most important day in our history. On our back I stopped to ask a police officer details for our morning journey and points of entry and suddenly I ran into my friend Felicia! We hugged for a few moments and was surprised to have found each other in the midst of so many. We had just communicated on facebook how I wanted to be there and hoped to see each other...what are the chances? Fate is so phenomenal.

We woke up at 2am on Inauguration day. I was dizzy, and exhausted because I couldn't really sleep knowing I had to get up early. However, we quickly jumped out of our early morning stupor and got dressed. We started our walk to the Capital building at 2:45AM. I layered my clothing as much as I could and was even a bit hot initially. However, that warmth came to a screeching halt 1 hour later as we arrived to our destination on 4th Street and Independence. There were people camped out on the sidewalk, but there was only about 100 people so we thought we had a great opportunity of being in the front. After 1 hour on line, we saw people running in the direction behind us and people started yelling "GO TO 7th street" we were pissed, but quickly turned around and followed suit. We arrived at 7th street on the next block and quickly lined up. We stood on line patiently waiting for the gates to open. Suddenly it seemed like a thousand people appeared out of nowhere!!! After another hour of standing my feet began to get really cold and I started to feel a chill through my whole body. My poor husband looked uncomfortable but was trying very hard to endure. I looked around and everyone was pretty much feeling the same thing....FREEZING! That arctic wind was covering us like a blanket of ice!

There are some who said it will be a cold day in hell before a Black man becomes President, well I do hope those people got their warm coats on! LOL

After another 45 minutes later, we suddenly started seeing the fence next to us swaying back and forth. Suddenly the gate popped open and people started rushing in and running to the front of the "non-ticketed" area. I was a bit afraid that maybe the secret service would rush us, but nothing happened and we got very close to where we initially mapped out the day before which GREAT considering the amount of people that were present. We found a spot by the speaker tower and pretty much stood there. At this point it was a little past 6AM. As we stood in single digit cold weather for hours, I felt my body suffering from cold and fatigue. Everyone looked beaten down by the cold blowing all over them. At one point I wondered what the hell was I smoking beating up my body like this and I said to myself "this is the least you can do...you are doing this for our future generation...you are witnessing history" and suddenly the cold wasn't so bad. I took myself mentally to a warm place and I warded off the feelings of giving up by thinking about the moment that was about to happened and how our future will change. I looked at my husband whose ankle was paining him from standing and at one point I begged him to sit on the ground for a few moments. He finally gave in and we sat together on the gravel and held on to each other for a few minutes. Finally I decided "enough is enough" and we got up and decided to make our way toward the port-a-potties on the side lines. We struggled through the tight crowd and walked around a bit to exercise our tired legs. Lu used the disgusting portable pottie and I tried but opened a few and saw a nasty mess so I decided to hold my bladder. Since we knew what we were against, we didn't eat or drink much that morning, but my sister needed something hot so she stood on a McDonald's Kiosk line that seemed a mile long. Lisa had the endurance of a brick building because she stood in the same spot for the entire time shifting from one leg to another...patiently waiting for history to be made.

After 30 minutes of stretching our legs, we decided to squeeze our way back through the crowd, found Lisa
in her same spot and resumed our standing along side her. My sister also finally came back, but had no success getting food. Suddenly they turned on the Jumbo-trons and to entertain the crowds they replayed the "We are One" concert....the crowd cheered. When Garth Brooks started singing "you know you make me wanna, SHOUT, throw my hands up and SHOUT" the crowd went crazy and we all started dancing and singing jumping up and down, which momentarily removed a bit of the chill. I looked around and people started doing the "Electric Slide" it was quite fascinating seeing that many people swaying back and forth in sync. The energy of the crowd revived me and once again I got that feeling of pure happiness. As I looked around the crowd I saw people of all complexions, backgrounds and countries. In the crowd were babies, children, men and women of all ages. There were poor, middle class and rich...everyone really did become one! People shared their food, held hands, laughed with each other and helped each other...it was amazing. There was some cursing and annoyance at people constantly passing through from one side to another, but overall people were patient. At one point 3 kind women in the crowd next to us offered their snacks to both Lucien and I. I wanted to hug them but never got a chance because finally the ceremony started...so were glued to the screen as they announced everyone.

As they announced people, all I wanted to see was Our President, First Lady, Sasha and Malia. When Sasha and Malia finally came on the screen the crowd cheered with excitement and when Michelle came out I got chills...then suddenly our President appeared and I forgot about my hunger, exhaustion and frozen hands and feet and my heart was instantly warmed. During the ceremony when Barack was complimenting Bush on his presidential run, the crowd resonated with "Boos" for once in my life I actually felt bad for Bush. It doesn't matter how strong of a person you are, feeling so disliked by so many people must be a painful feeling! We listened to Joe Biden get sworn in and the crowd cheered....

THEN, it happened, Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into Presidency and I wanted to cry, but I think my tear ducts were frozen, but my heart cried out with joy, all of us jumped up and down with sheer joy! You could see people's faces lit up with happiness, some cried, some said a prayer of thanks, it was an awesome experience to share a moment like that with so many! Despite the cold...it was truly an experience of a lifetime.

Immediately after the swearing in, the crowd started making their exit. The rest of the ceremony was a blur I didn't hear much of the poem or the ending...everyone wanted to just get out of the cold! The crowds exited and everyone was peaceful and cooperative...I never once heard of any fights or drama which is remarkable for a crowd that size.

This moment in time is etched in a very special place in my heart and I'm sure in billions of others. I'm truly proud to be an American and this family makes me want to learn more and be a better person, they make me want to travel the world, volunteer my time more and just give back. They make me want to succeed in every area of my life....they inspired me at every angle of my life. It's going to take me a while to process all of this because this is SO massive!

This trip was significant for me on many levels and in many ways, my stamina (mentally and physically) was challenged. I realized that I'm stronger than I think and sometimes in life in order for GREAT things to happen you have to endure some pain.

I want to thank my husband for being a trooper and for always supporting me through my spontaneity and for always going with the flow...he's my Barack Obama on a daily basis. I have to thank Lisa for encouraging us to go to Washington DC, however, it didn't take much coercion because I knew in my heart I needed to be there. I also want to thank my sister Aesha for taking great pictures. I'm happy and proud to have experienced history and I would've probably endured more. The trip was worth the pains I feel in my legs right now from all that standing, the sickness I presently feel in my body and the slight exhaustion from the lack of sleep. This moment added another dimension of humility, honor, respect and history in my mind.

God Bless Our President - Barack Obama, Our First Lady, Michelle Obama, Our Princesses, Sasha and Malia on their journey to making the United States a better place for EVERYONE! Their journey is OUR journey and it's up to us to help them in making America a better place because they can't do it alone.

Throughout this election process to date, what I notice stands out most about the Obamas is that they are humanitarians. Very few possess that kind of love and genuine caring for people. Their credentials don't matter as much as what's in their heart. They exude a genuine warmth toward each other and their children that is undeniable and they have a genuine love of their community. You can tell these are truly self-actualized people. They are not angry, have vengeful hearts or hold animosity. If they did, they never would've gotten this far. Many are mistaken by what is most important in life. It's not the superficial things. No amount of college degrees, money, houses or cars can make you a nice person, it's about what is inside of you and what you give to people. The Obamas are the example of what you can achieve when you are not held hostage by mental bondage and issues. I'm glad that they are the leading example and my hope is that their warmth will rub off on more people.

I'm grateful for the new world we live in!

Blessings to you all.

ps...here are photos compliments of my sister. Unfortunately of all the things we forgot, it was our camera! Oy vey.

http://www.made2design.com/photography/09inauguration