I'm Back....And Yes I Did!

I witnessed history....and had the nerve to be closer than I ever imagined I would be to the First Family watchin Retha SANG and of course, President Obama take his oath and become the 44th president of the United States. We braved the cold...its called layers and toe warmers...and while there were some over zealous people pushing on the line that caused me to throw a bow or two and count to 10, it was literally one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had or may ever have in my lifetime. I can't even express to you the joy, the elation, the honor I felt to breathe the same air as President Obama. It was such a privilege and a memory that I will cherish forever and always. And of course there has been nothing else on TV but Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha, so I don't have anything new to share, but seriously....how gorgeous did Michelle look at the balls (all ten of them)? Did you not stare at them in awe and amazement as they took their first dance (ten times)? How cute was Sasha giving her daddy the thumbs on a job well done? How beautiful is Malia? How special do YOU feel knowing that you are alive to see a young, extraordinary, yet fabulously normal BLACK family take up residence in the White House and run this country? I feel BLESSED and inspired and ready to see what the world holds for me. And with that, I want to leave you with one of my favorite portions of Da Prez's speech. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.