It's not just that we have a new President, that he is the first African American to hold the highest office in our country, that over 1 million people showed up at the National Mall, that so much hope reverberated throughout the country. Yesterday was a big day.
I took it all in from my living room, kitchen, and bathroom, thanks to NPR's all-day live coverage. Going about my daily routine - giving Liam breakfast, changing diapers, knitting, washing a load of diapers, putting Liam down for naps - it was such a normal day. How surreal to think that such a typical day for me was so life changing for the Obama family. I wonder how long it will take for the White House to feel normal to them? Before they feel like they can leave their beds unmade and shoes in the middle of the floor?
I wonder how long it will take for George and Laura Bush to settle in to life in Texas. To get over the weight of the nation. I wonder if yesterday was just a big breath of relief.
Maybe there's just a new kind of normal. Today is always different from yesterday was or tomorrow will be. We only fool ourselves into monotony.
In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.
from "Praise Song for the Day" by Elizabeth Anderson
oh man, that poem undid me. so beautiful.
ReplyDeletethat is so beautiful
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