baraculous & barailliant

so here it is almost a week later & i'm still digging on the inauguration.  at least, i've learned to spell it!  wasn't it something?  it will be one of those questions so many of us will always remember, up there with "where were you when you heard JFK had been shot?  when diana died?  when barack was sworn in?".   i know some folks who went up to DC.  i've not talked to anyone - i have heard that it was really great.  very little to no complaining about the long lines & waits that were encountered & about the cold.  i heard also that the energy that day was phenomenal. sad i couldn't be there.

dad had a dr. appointment at MCV on tuesday afternoon & wednesday morning, so they spent the night in richmond.  i went down & got mom & dad tuesday morning.  i was so afraid we would miss it.  when we got to MCV to give the valet the car, joe biden was being sworn in & i knew for sure we couldn't get up to the 4th floor in time to obama get sworn in & i was uber-bummed.  as it turned out, though, the music (wasn't it beautiful?) & yo-yo ma were still playing when i arrived on the 4th floor.   the waiting room was crowded with drs. nurses, staff & patients are gathered around the tv.  i teared up as he took the oath & at the end, an involuntary & unplanned homer-like "woo-hoo" escaped from my mouth-  this was followed by much clapping in the waiting area.  i loved his speech.  my mom says she thinks obama was sent as a gift from god- that he was truly called to this.  perhaps...

i had the best visit with my mom & dad.  on the way back to williamsburg wednesday, we chatted away.  we talked about spirituality, how my parents' beliefs have changed in terms of god & religion, what it is like to be in your later 80's & toward the end of your life.  dad & i talked alot about his work & economic theory- the keynesians vs the friedmans.  i learned a lot- both about my dad & economic theory.  i love that i enjoy my parents & that they continue to be interesting to me.  

we were quite a group going out for dinner on tuesday night.  i felt like i was driving the short yellow bus.  we had danny with his cast & crutches, dad with his cane & his careful, slow steps & gigi (mom) who moves a bit more slowly these days & has difficulty seeing at night.  gigi & i got the giggles as we were leaving thinking about what we must have looked like.  

it's been quite a process doing more & more to help my parents over this past year and a half.  they were always very independent & enjoyed life.  they traveled a fair amount & had plenty of friends with whom they did things.  following dad's surgery & stroke in sept 2007, a lot more was required from us kids.  i have gotten closer to my parents as a result.  my brother is in oregon & my sister in illinois, so i do a lot of the ordinary or day-to-day stuff that might need getting done.  sometimes i have gotten impatient & then i try to remember- they did this with me.  they walked slowly so that i could keep up, they repeated themselves multiple times so that i could understand, they patiently explained things over again when i wasn't clear.  there is definitely a bit of grace being directed toward me as i learn to lead those whom i used to follow.   i hope there is grace on the other end, too.