Wednesday, January 20, 2021

The Best Day In Forever


 When Jessie brought the boys over this morning, August was beside himself with excitement. He handed me a red envelope and told me to open it which I did. Inside was a sheet of yellow paper that he had written "Joe Biden" on. He figured out the spelling mostly himself with help from Mama, and Levon was happy to share in the excitement. 

Lord, what a day. 
I don't know about you but when Joe finished his oath and I knew that Trump was well and truly no longer the president, the tears that had been flowing since I heard the Marine band start up well before the ceremony began, burst forth in full. I felt such a physical rush of relief and joy flood my body that it's hard to describe. I had cried when I saw Kamala and when she took her oath, I cried when I saw the Obamas, I cried when Jill and Joe walked down those steps. But that second when the power transferred was a different feeling entirely and all of us in our living room, Glen, Jessie, August, Levon, and I all clapped like crazy and cheered and it was as if a heavy curtain of darkness and fear had been lifted and the light was able to pour in. 


Indeed, the sun was shining so brightly here and it got so warm that I opened up the hallway doors and let the good, clean air wash in and wash through, and it felt exactly right. 

I swear- if I'd had flags and bunting, I would have hung them all in red, white, and blue glory. 

The inauguration went well and everyone seemed happy and I even loved Lady GaGa who gave the Star Spangled Banner her own special gold. Even Garth Brooks in those tight, tight jeans with the ironed-in creases down the legs and his uncontrollable delight in being able to acknowledge everyone he could, made me smile. 

And then Amanda Gorman whose words were so powerful, whose hands were like doves, dancing to them. 


In her face I saw her foremothers and forefathers, upon whose backs this country was built. I saw the faces of young people, sitting at a Woolworth's lunch counter, stoic in the face of hatred, wanting nothing more than the right to order and eat a tuna salad sandwich, an ice cream sundae. I saw Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by US Federal marshals, necessary because the thought of a small Black child being able to attend the same school as white kids brought the threat of violence upon her tiny petticoated self. Ruby was born two months after me. We are virtually the same age. I remember. 
I remember.
And while today was a day of such hope and such light and such joy, there were guards and the military and police everywhere having to protect not only Ms. Gorman but all of the people who were there to celebrate the inauguration of a man who has the audacity to speak against racism and white nationalism. And that fact wreaks my soul. But. 
Once again, I feel as if we are headed in the right direction and although there is more healing and repairing to be done than I can even imagine, we can at least make those first steps now. 



Joe's speech was great, in my opinion, and my favorite part was when he quoted Abraham Lincoln who, when signing the Emancipation Proclamation said, "My whole soul is in it." 
"My whole soul is in it," repeated President Biden, referring then to himself. 

That's really all I needed to hear. 

Love...Ms. Moon

55 comments:

  1. Rarely am I moved by ceremony- but THIS one did it! I take back my curmudgeon opinion of tucking them all in a bunker to say "I do and I will"- for the sake of safety. I was compelled to get up very early and watch the entire thing. So glad i did. I think we can finally breathe a bit better. Holy cow, that was swell!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too, woman. It was swell and it was beautiful! A luminous day.

      Delete
  2. It was beautiful hopeful honest quietly glorious. Trump's exit was. Well what you would expect but as one news anchor put it. Even more cringeworthy. Dont know if you saw him depart on air force 1 YMCA playing Why? followed by MY WAY apparently Sinatra loathed him. And the CNN commentators having held it together welL up to plane take off finally dissolving into uncontrollable laughter as plane left tarmac. Appropriate yes no ? l thought so. Rest of proceedings I thought honest respectful I cried and l am a Brit. First time l ever listened to Lady Gaga in my life always liked her style but being old never heard her sing. Wow. So glad for you Mary America. Know tis only beginning but you got some good uns and l smell hope. Now we need a Biden and Harris. Can we borrow Obama. Delighted for you. xxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! I'm so glad you watched the whole thing! I love your observations. Trump certainly did it his way. It's so funny to me that two of the songs he used constantly were "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "YMCA". I mean- WHY?
      Aren't the Bidens and Harris and her man beautiful? I trust them. I really do.
      I thought GaGa was great.
      I'm pretty sure that Michelle would not let anyone have Barack at this point. And he seems to love her so...

      Delete
    2. We would love to have Michelle too
      I watched the concert too xxx

      Delete
    3. We would love to have Michelle too
      I watched the concert too xxx

      Delete
  3. My daughter and I shed copious tears watching Madame Vice President. The floodgates for me really opened as he was speaking because it was a normal human with good intentions. We can breathe a little better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We can certainly all breathe a little better. I just adore Kamala.

      Delete
  4. Ah, I think Terry said it perfectly. A normal human with good intentions.....a kind heart.... a truly good person. I too had tears almost the entire time.....very good tears.
    Susan M

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wasn't it a wonderful, beautiful day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have never cried at an inauguration before. They were hopeful tears.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I cried like crazy at Obama's inauguration! I'll never forget that day. But yesterday was so very special in its own way. Lovely.

      Delete
  7. All the firsts! All the inclusiveness! All the talent! All the goodwill! I teared up a lot.

    That iconic view of the Vice President AND HER HUSBAND on the steps. What joy I take in typing that. All the women there in their own right, not just as partners.

    What a day. I'm breathing right for the first time in four years. We came so close to losing it all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did come so close to losing it all. And if Trump had won 2020- I have no doubt we would have.
      Instead, we have hope. A hell of a lot of work but also...hope.

      Delete
  8. One of the glory days in the history of this country. I wish I could see how this day, this time in our nation, when all who witnessed it and participated in it are gone, will be portrayed. if it will go down as one of the make or break points in our national history. I know those we have vanquished for the moment have not gone away but hopefully they reached their zenith and are now in decline. they are, after all, getting arrested and Trump has basically abandoned them with promises of we'll be back to his pathetic seeing off crowd.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh, and, have I mentioned...I want to live in your house.

      Delete
    2. I agree, Ellen. One of the glory days, for sure. A day we stepped from darkness into light. May your words be true about us having reached the zenith. And now that we know how close we came to losing it all, perhaps all of us will be less hesitant to speak the truth and fear no damn man.
      I honestly do not think Trump is coming back in any real way. He's on the fast train to shame.

      Delete
  9. Oh, what a day! I cancelled my doctor’s appointment because I didn’t think I’d get back home in time. Glad I did because it was a joy watching the T’s fly away. Kampala’s oath of office, her wide, loving smile, Joe’s oath of office, Jill’s tears as she hugged him, the music (not a fan of JLo or Lady Gaga but they both did wonderful jobs), Garth singing his favorite song, and my Lord, a 22-year-old poet who brought me to tears. Yes, when I heard PRESIDENT Biden say ‘so help me God’ the flood gates opened. Peace, joy, hope flooded me. My best friend said it felt like an awakening. I like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I missed the video footage of Trump actually leaving. When I turned on the TV the plane was already wheels up. That was fairly satisfying. Sure wish he wasn't moving to Florida. Last thing we need.
      I agree with you on JLo and GaGa. And yes! Garth was really okay, wasn't he? And Amanda Gorman- well. Poetry goddess.
      An awakening is right.

      Delete
  10. It was a feeling of relief and now we just need to clean up all of the broken pieces.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We sure do have a lot of work to do. But at least we have the leadership to begin.

      Delete
  11. What a glorious day! Now the hard work begins, but at least we have a President and VP who are ready to tackle it. We are flying the flag with pride.

    Chris from Boise

    Chris from Boise

    ReplyDelete
  12. There is hope again. And this was the first time in the last year that those who have died from COVID have been honored. I cried a lot and the world feels like a better place tonight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was so impressed at how often Biden recognized those who have died from the virus. And he's a man who knows what loss is.

      Delete
  13. I cried so many happy tears. It feels as if a giant weight has been lifted off us. I feel hope.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I watched it here in Uk and found it very emotional too. I clapped when I finally heard Joe Biden referred to as Mr. President for the first time and drank a toast...to all my American blog friends who I knew would be watching. I thought of you, Jennifer in S. Carolina, Steve here, ( just 25 miles away!) Rosemary in NY, and Mitchell in Spain and knew how thrilled you would all be. My husband couldn't understand why I was watching......for my friends I said !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances, that's about the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Thank you so much for caring. Thank you for being our friend.

      Delete
    2. Frances, I just wanted to jump in here and repeat what Mary just said...thank you for being our friend!

      Delete
  15. In two or three moments during the inauguration ceremony, I also had tears running down my cheeks as I rocked my perfect granddaughter. Capitol Hill was reclaimed by the forces of goodness and light but as you half reminded us, twenty five thousand troops, national guards and police officers needed to be there to thwart the forces of malevolence and darkness. God Bless America!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm so happy you got to rock your Phoebe while you watched American become a place that feels like a new country all of a sudden. As if we had been renewed. May this bide a better world for all of our grandchildren.

      Delete
  16. We teared up too. We are back on the right path, moving toward the light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'd have to be about half dead not to be moved to tears by at least one or two things that happened yesterday. It was so glorious.

      Delete
  17. Yes yes yes yes yes! At some point yesterday I realized that I was smiling. I’m not sure I’ve REALLY smiled in more than 4 years. I know these next few years will be difficult, I won’t be happy with everything the Biden administration does. BUT the malevolent grifters are gone, and I can breathe and look forward to a future. Best wishes to us all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The "malevolent grifters" is a perfect choice of words to describe those people. I would love to never even see another picture of anyone from that family again in my entire life.

      Delete
  18. I didn't get to watch, but during the evening news, I did cry. My husband has never been a political man, but he called me a lunchtime to watch the inauguration. I can't while the boys are homeschooling, but as soon school was done, the television was on. When he got home from work, we both watched the recaps. And both of us were very, very happy. My husband said, "I am glad that trump was not there. He shouldn't have been. America is done with him."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly what I felt- thank goodness he wasn't there. Your husband was right- he did not belong there. And I do hope with all my heart that American is done with him.

      Delete
  19. You described it perfectly. I'm not even American but I felt like I'd been holding my breath for 24 hours and finally, when the transfer of power was complete, I could let out a sigh of relief!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Treader. I know that what the US does affects a lot of people all over the entire world and I was so ashamed the entire last four years. I feel better now.

      Delete
  20. Wonderfully said, Mary. I could only catch glimpses of the inauguration on the WP website because I was virtual schooling with my young GS. But what I could see made me sigh with relief and smile with joy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so faithful! I think I would have declared a sick day and watched anyway. You are a GOOD grandmother and teacher!

      Delete
  21. It was a wonderful day. So nice to listen to hopeful, sincere people with the beautiful sun shining down on them. Made me feel hopeful, too, and so grateful.
    Peace and love to everyone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sincere is right. Sincere and good.
      Yes. May there be peace and love and hope and change.

      Delete
  22. Oh, you know I cried, too. Every little bit of hope and decency on display brought on fresh tears of pure relief. It was so nice to go to bed last night not having to worry about what was going on at the White House!

    Amanda Gorman was brilliant. Everything was just perfect. What a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought it was too, Jennifer! Just perfect!

      Delete
  23. I cried too. Feel like I can finally breathe and enjoy the moment. Your description of her hands, like doves dancing to her words was so perfect I'm crying again. And August! My heart. Much love.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ah it was the best day in ages. My eyes teared up a lot.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.