Moving forward

Sunrise on a foggy morning.

Somehow we weathered and witnessed
A nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
There is always light
if only we’re brave enough to see it
if only we’re brave enough to be it.

— Amanda Gorman
(In case you missed it, you can watch the full reading of this wonderful poem here.)

Light in the darkness.

It’s 10:00 AM on Inauguration Day as I begin this post and like many, I’m waiting.  Part of me feels as if I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say (or write) that the past four years have been traumatic to some degree.  It’s a little like having lived with an abusive man for what felt like forever and now that he’s leaving, we can’t be sure he’s really leaving or that he will stay gone.

A screen capture.

The television is on in the living room, the background noise of talking heads is almost soothing.  I normally don’t leave the television on when I’m not going to be in the room, but I feel the need for it today.  The last time I passed through the room they were talking about pearls and why many women are wearing them today.  The chatter of fashion and jewelry is so mundane, so ordinary.  It’s a relief.  All the feelings are here with the relief.  All of them.  I’ve shed tears more than a few times this morning, tears of relief, tears of joy.  (Side note of little importance:  I also admired all the jewel tones the women were wearing.  I think my newly colored purple hair almost matches Hillary Clinton’s outfit.)

The color, light, and clouds party at sunrise.

I wish they had better advertised last night’s memorial to those who have died of Covid.  I’ve been bitching carrying on for months about how we need a national moment of silence or something of that sort.  I caught part of it on the news yesterday evening, after it was over.  I would like to have watched it all (our local channels — we don’t have cable — didn’t show it).  We need time to grieve before we get back to work.  And we do need to get back to work.  There is so much to do.  I very much appreciated President Uncle Joe’s moment of silence during his speech after he was sworn in.  (President Biden, before he was President Biden, was often called “Uncle Joe” in Delaware and here on the peninsula where a piece of Delaware resides.)

Upside down world.

I’ve been watching Twitter, off and on.  The conspiracy folks are changing their tune pretty fast, coming up with new conspiracies that apparently make Joe Biden the hero of the story.  That, too, is something of a relief IF those under the influence are truly buying it.  I suppose the narrative had to change after the predictions didn’t come true.  (And thank all the gods that ever existed for that!)  I suppose the “American carnage” that started 45’s presidency has some truth to it in the end.  I also noticed some of the conspiracy people suddenly coming to terms with how it might have all been a LARP (Live Action Role Playing).  If so, that’s good news, too.

Oh happy day.

On a really positive note:  Our first female Vice President was sworn in today.  I hope this breaks the barrier and that a woman is sworn in as president in my lifetime.

Beauty at sunset.

The weather in D.C. is similar to what we’re seeing here.  Cold and windy.  The wind is fierce at times and the temperature has been dropping.  And yet, there is a light and warmth to today that I haven’t felt in a very long time.

We now have a new president, and the old one has slithered away where I hope we don’t hear much from him.  It’s not a realistic hope.  The media is still driven by drama.  The only way to get around that is to not engage.  That is my vow.  To walk away from the drama and the lies.  I don’t know about y’all but I’ve had enough to last me a lifetime.

When the sky looks like a beautiful painting.

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith, we trust.
For while we have our eyes on the future,
history has its eyes on us.

~ more from Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb”

When rainbow colors come to the clouds and fill the sky.

The inauguration is over and from what I’ve seen, the new administration is getting right to work.  Good.  There’s a lot to be done.

There is a power in each and every one of us that lives by turning to every other one of us — a thrust of the Spirit to cherish and care and stand by others and above all those most in need.  It is called love and its path is to give ever more of itself.

~ from the prayer offered by Fr. Leo J. O’Donovan at President Joe Biden’s inauguration today

Zooming out.

Thank you so much for visiting with me on this day of hope.  I know there are still tough times ahead, but at least there is someone in charge who seems to care, who has a heart.  Let’s meet at the Point for a sunset celebration this evening.  Sunset is scheduled for 5:13 PM.  Bundle up.  It’s cold and windy out there but I figure if all those past presidents and the current president could stand the cold for a little while, so can we.

Please be safe, be well, and take some time to care for yourself.

Yesterday evening at the Point.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  1,686)  President Joe Biden.  1,687)  Vice President Kamala Harris.  1,688)  President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.  1,689)  Part of the nightmare is over.  1,690)  Today’s inauguration.  Everything about it.