Yes, we did

I had the honor of getting to watch the inauguration with some of my dear friends this morning, and all I can say is "wow." History is made.

Here's my ongoing list of surreal moments from the day:

1) That the Supreme Court Chief Justice screwed up the words to the oath of office. Helluva job, there Roberts.

2) Aretha Franklin's hat. Somewhere, Eleanor Roosevelt or Queen Elizabeth are missing a chapeau.

3) The benediction closing lines of ...Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right.

Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

4) Cheney in a wheelchair. The resemblance to mean Mr. Potter in "It's a Wonderful Life" was extra surreal.

5) The amazing view of the crowds who braved subzero weather to stretch out of sight to be witness to this.

6) Senators Byrd and Kennedy collapsing at the lunch afterwards. We can't lose any more Democrats in the Senate folks!!! We need a majority!

7) The camera shots of Bill Clinton checking out Michelle, and later the Bush twins. He had dirty thoughts in his mind...all you had to do was look at the expression on his face.

8) Malia taking her own snapshots of the occasion. Like the concert on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, this morning she had out her little digital camera and was recording the moment for herself. I would love it if someone would publish her "view" of the events. She even asked Joe Biden to take a photo for her at one point.

9) Obama's address...not surreal, but incredible. Even though I heard it this morning, I just went online to read it, and it is even more powerful the second time.

10) That the companies advertising on CNN today are all employing a theme of change and hopefulness. Pepsi has apparently hijacked the Obama campaign logo to be the new Pepsi logo, and their commercials are blatant in their message of change, and the words Yes We Can.

That's it for now....I'm sure I'll add more later. Meanwhile, share your inaugural moments with me!

is this the way she sees us?

For the last few days T1 has been getting a lot of--well lets say "unhappy" --feedback from The Reenactor and me. Part of it has stemmed from our trying to get her to take responsibility for the unbelievable amount of stuff she has in her room, and making choices to get rid of a huge chunk of it. She's sentimental and reluctant to part with a lot of things, and that means her room is overflowing with dozens of stuffed animals, piles of parts to horse and doll sets, and books, journals, and now CDs. In the past the only way I could deep-clean her room was if she went to visit her grandparents for a couple of days, during which time I would go in with trash bags and boxes to put stuff to donate, and I always got rid of a LOT of stuff, none of which she reported missing when she returned. But she's old enough now to do this herself, and at times is remarkably good about sorting and choosing what to keep and what to get rid of. But at times it is like watching molasses pour in January to get her to go through just one box of mismatched toys.

Anyway...last night as I was working in her room with her I noticed that her dollhouse had the dolls set up in groupings in the different rooms. At the front of the kitchen she had this group...a Mom and Dad doll (no comment on the fact that the Mom is actually labeled as a "grandmother" on the package and is sporting gray hair!) clearly having a conversation with their pony-tailed daughter. I started laughing when I saw it, but the more I looked at it, the more I wondered if that is how she feels right now...Mom and Dad standing on either side of her, hands on hips in frustration.

If you playing with this group of dolls right now, what would your dialog be for them?

just another reason to rant

I have noticed an interesting trend in the last couple of weeks: drive-through conveniences are being geared toward people driving large SUVs. My bank has a new facility drive-through lane that has two heights for the box to come that you place your checks or whatever into. The top height is clearly convenient if you are in a full size truck or SUV. The lower height is for regular passenger cars. The problem is, if you pull up after someone who was in a larger vehicle the box has been left at the "upper" position, and I haven't found a way to get it to lower to the passenger car position. If I press the only button available other than "call" it goes to the teller. So to get the box I have to unbuckle, open the door, and half climb out of my car to reach it.

And today I was mailing some letters at a mid-town post office drive-up box, which has been replaced in the last year or so from the two "local" and "other" mailboxes into one large box. Again, I had to put my car in park, unbuckle, get out and mail the letters because the friggin' opening is set a good two feet above my reach.

I understand in the big picture this is truly a minor inconvenience. BUT, I'm irritated that apparently SUVs at one point became so popular in our culture that institutions like banks and the Post Office decided to cater specifically to those drivers.

Has anyone else noticed another place where things have been placed higher?

Gettin' over my own stupid self

Hey Campers, it's a new year, and I'm 50! Wow! I don't feel a week over 49!

My last post was a practice in wallowing in my own holiday blues. I apologize for how selfishly worded it was. I still maintain that there are too many things standing in the way of Christmas to actually enjoy Christmas, and we all need to return to a simpler holiday that is shorter in duration (not the month-long marathon starting at Thanksgiving) yet more meaningful in quality. It is interesting that a comment from my niece 'Shley mentioned the 12 days of Christmas and how we ought to start having fun on the 25th and just enjoy the next two weeks. That was the same message our minister had at the Christmas Eve service and I think it is a great idea. I have definitely had a better time after Christmas than before.

With one notable exception.

After three weeks of on-again, off-again tummy ache, complete with a spectacular case of sickness into a plastic shopping bag somewhere near Rogersville, Missouri the day after Christmas, we took T2 to the doc last Wed. just to rule out something bigger than garden variety stomach bug. Turns out that he had an inflamed appendix, and while it wasn't serious, or even close to it, a CT scan and review by two radiologists and a surgeon determined that he was going to need it taken out. He is home now, and other than some tenderness that causes him to walk around stooped like a little old man, he seems on the mend.

So since I wasn't in the mood to be grateful to anyone, or for anything before Christmas, this is my newly revised view of the world.

First, to Mariann who magically appeared in the ER just as the doc was recommending to me that T2 have immediate surgery, and helped me with him while I tried to tell the admitting folks all his pertinent details. You can't imagine who grateful I was just for her calm presence while I was trying to sort everything out and keep him from being too upset. She is a blessing to our family, and to our church family for her generous spirit and constant kindness and faith.

Second, to our friend John for giving The Reenactor a ride to the hospital that was described to me as "efficient" but nonetheless got him there before T2 was actually wheeled into the operating room. If any of you know how to bypass having an extra Volvo key made without having to go to an actual Volvo dealership, please let me know. We discovered that day that just one key on my keyring isn't an option any more.

Third, to our friends Hannah and Julie who both showed up in the waiting room while T2 was in the operating room just to keep us company and to help keep T1 distracted. T1 was very worried about her little brother, and all of you helped keep her attitude positive. Special thanks also to Julie for the delicious Taco Soup she delivered to our house the night T2 got home from the hospital. The Reenactor has declared her a Domestic Goddess for that crock full of soup.

Next, to our friend Erin who consulted with us multiple times via cell phone while on her own vacation about T2's condition, and gave us comfort and information. I'm sorry you were having to talk loudly about spastic colons and inflamed appendix in public places, but your advice was unbelievably helpful.

And finally, to all the docs, nurses, and OR people who took care of my sick and very, very scared little boy. I don't know your names, but I'm grateful that you were so kind to him.

Next up...my own take on turning 50. It's a real page-turner!