Edit: Wow, my first Recommended diary. I'm tearing up again.
I apologize in advance for the very short diary.
Last week, my minister told the congregation that services were going to be held an hour later than usual, something about the Inaugural celebration, which I took to mean traffic. I wasn't really listening, I was playing around with my phone.
This week, in the course of running around trying to figure out what parties to attend, how to score tickets for the Gala, and buying long johns to wear while spending 8 hours outside serving as a Inauguration Day volunteer on the Mall, the church time thing completely slipped my mind, and I showed up a bit early to services.
Imagine my surprise when the church went on lockdown and the Obama family walked into the church.
I sit in the back right corner; I think my choice of seating reflects my if not unease, then my continous effort to reconcile my faith with my intellect. But when Obama and his family began to work their way up the aisle next to my seat, intellect went down for the count.
I now understand why girls throw their panties at Tom Jones or faint at Michael Jackson concerts. Wait, no I really don't, especially the Jackson thing, but I do know I actually said that I would never wash my right hand again.
Seeing him in my familar setting made my mind go blank. It also reenergized me; I have been growing pessimistic about the Obama administration being business as usual, thanks to the lack of any real statement about Gaza, about the cast of characters chosen to steward the economy, Rick Warren, a bunch of little things.
Today, though, for 90 minutes, Barack Obama sat and listened to Dr. Harkins, with his family, just like I did. Today, all of the door knocking, the phone calls, the donations, the incessant emails, everything came together and the symbol of change became a living person.
Change came to DC today, and the extraordinary thing about it is the very ordinariness of that man. He is truly one of us, and that gives me great comfort and faith.