I confess. I am a sap!
If there was any doubt it was erased yesterday.
Even though we live in the best part of Canada; even though we love it here, my citizenship is still in the United States, so Wednesday I went home at lunch to witness the transfer of power.
From the moment I watched George and Laura Bush walk in the tears were flowing. When the Obamas came in I was unable to speak. And when the ceremony began…well, can you say “Ugly cry?”
There were so many elements that just blew me away. Lady Gaga setting the new standard for the National Anthem; Jennifer Lopez following up her Super Bowl Halftime show with an Inauguration performance (not a bad year!) Then when the oaths of offie were give to the first female vice president who also just happens to be a person of color, and then to the new president on a Bible that has been in his family for over a century and weighs at least 50 pounds!
And then last night when the traditional balls could not be held and were replaced with a virtual celebration that began with Bruce Springsteen (I could have stopped there! BIG fan!) and ended with a fireworks spectacle that….well just go back and watch!
It was a good day. As one friend put it, it was like a giant exhale. It was a welcome to the new normal.
And maybe that is why it was celebrated around the world. We are in a different place now than we were just 4 years ago. We are all experiencing a global pandemic. We are having to live into a new normal in every aspect of our lives.
Whether you saw any of the ceremony you have probably heard and seen the amazing incredible poem by the first Youth Poet Laureate of the US, Amanda Gorman. Resplendent in her yellow coat she offer words of reality and hope. As I texted some friends, “How many of us will be quoting her in the weeks to come.” I am today, because he reminded us all what we need to remember about the days to come.
When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and unafraid.
The new dawn balloons as we free it.
For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.
May we be brave.