In D.C.!!!

I spend the morning hanging out with my daughter, the baby, and her friends. We of course speak of the inauguration, Obama, hopes for the future.

Almost everyone I meet, including more of myself, supports a large portion of the "wait and see" approach to Obama.

And everyone is so very happy and excited.

Later this afternoon and evening, we venture into D.C. to check out the status of closures and barricades, to find out how the city is shifting to accommodate millions more folks. We find a parking space, bundle up and mingle with friends and visitors.

The atmosphere is so very charged - not as in, 'oh it's christmas', but more like 'oh it's graduation' or 'oh it's a new baby' - that kind of excitement.

So not really excitement but extreme pleasure! We all feel so very pleased and so very proud!

And again, not the pride of 'oh I have a shiney new car' but the pride of ‘I ran the marathon and here I am'!

And everywhere, on the streets, at the pubs, even at the grocery store, folks are buzzing, strangers greeting each other, finding out where you come from, whether you have a ticket, smiling, hugging, patting backs.

It certainly is such a historic moment and I’m so grateful I am here.