Welcome President Obama!!

Yay!!!! It's official!! My company invited anyone interested to watch the inauguration on projector screens in the cafeteria today. It was really nice to be somewhat in the action even if we couldn't be in D.C. Everyone clapped and laughed and cheered together.

I thought his speech was necessarily somber, for sure, but hopeful and inspiring. It's hard to sum up even my feelings about it, because he addressed so much and my overall awe of the event itself overshadows everything. Bill Clinton, according to the NYTimes' live blog, also had a hard time articulating:

“I thought he had some particularly moving lines in there. It was a really good speech,” Mr. Clinton said, adding that the blend of domestic and global challenges were “encapsulized well.” He used that word -– encapsulized, which cannot be quickly located in a dictionary -– several times.

The music, especially the piece by John Williams, was beautiful. Aretha managed to rock "My Country 'Tis of Thee", not surprisingly. Elizabeth Alexander's poem was all about love. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery's Benediction was awesome, ending with his hopeful outlook towards a new time "when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead man and when white would embrace what is right." Good feelings in the air. I've been listening to NPR all day, and it sounds like President Obama is already busy at work making changes. It sounds amazing to hear "Former President Bush" but even better to hear "President Obama".

It's an historical day, the beginning of a new era. Hail to the new Chief!!