This is what we woke up to yesterday. I was supposed to be at work, but 5 inches of snow fell overnight and since I live in the Piedmont of North Carolina, that kind of precipitation shuts us down. It necessitated my calling out for the day and using precious PTO time.I reflected as I stood on my front porch taking this photo around 7:30 a.m. that the white blanket covering all I could see was a metaphor for the fresh start I anticipated later that day. Barack Obama would be sworn in as our new President and I was jubilant. This snow afforded me the opportunity to watch the inauguration as it happened rather than recording it as I had planned to do.
A fresh start, a new beginning. Hope for our country and a prayer for the future. A clean slate upon which to write new commitments and plans for service. A new resolve to do what we can; to do what we must. Build a new foundation to support our leader in effecting needed change.
I stood on my porch in the extreme quiet that morning, thankful for the time it allowed me to reflect on all this day promised and all this new leadership expected from us as a nation. And though I had not planned on being home this day, I was thankful that by being snowed in, I was given the opportunity to watch as a new era in our nation was ushered in. For the first time in many years, I was proud to be American and hopeful for our future.
Thank you President Obama. Thank you Michelle Obama for the sacrafice of sharing your husband with our country. God bless and hold you and your family close as you serve us and lead us into the future that is now bright with possibility.
