Inauguration Day

I feel like I should say something thoughtful and deep to commemorate this day.  I cannot think of anything particularly meaningful.  Joey and I did watch the inauguration live on TV this morning.  I enjoyed President Obama’s speech, especially, “We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.”

I am hopeful about the future.  I realize that change is slow, and the expectations placed on President Obama are high, but the beauty of hope is that it can survive the most dire situations.  Hope can exist when all else is lost, and, while we are in difficult times, all is not lost.

I hope President Obama can gain the trust of our allies around the world.  I hope that our service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are able to complete their jobs and come home safely.  I hope that the financial crisis can be resolved effectively.  I hope that Congress answers President Obama’s call for cooperation.  I hope that the American people can, as our new president suggests, return to “those values upon which our success depends – honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism.”  I hope…