The Grateful Pilgrimage

So, it's 7:30 p.m. Pacific time... the time to which my body is still pretty much ticking. It's 10:30 in Washington, DC, where Jon, Jesse, Katie and I have arrived today.

It's been an interesting, breathtaking, hilarious, day. It started at 1:30 a.m. this morning when I awoke to start all the morning rituals so that we could make our 3:00 shuttle to the airport in Sacramento. All was going perfectly well, until 2:12 a.m., when my son, uttering an expletive, informed me that he didn't have any pants.

No pants?

He insisted on wearing his pajamas to Sacramento, and apparently, despite the 'dry run' packing that we did on Saturday, and the much advertised and celebrated 'family laundry night' we had last Tuesday, somehow-- somehow-- the pants did not make it into his suitcase.

So, tomorrow, I will post pictures of him, on the plane, in his pajamas. Headed for 18-degree temperatures in our nation's capital.

Sarah, Jesse's beloved girlfriend, may have fully demonstrated her devotion to my son today when she texted Jesse to let him know that she was Fed Exing his pants to him here in Washington, DC. Arranging overnight delivery of one's britches is one of the highest forms of affection in my book!

While flying today, my excitement for our adventure grew. And so did my gratitude.

I realized, that we would not be on this amazing journey, and we would not be witnessing next week's history in the making as Barack Obama is sworn in as our president, were it not for YOU. All of you. Had we not collectively turned out in record numbers to have our voices heard in the November election; and had we all not pulled together, united in our hope for a better nation, my family and I would not be here this week sharing in this historic moment.

The air in Washington is buzzing. The taste of hope is tangible. It can be seen in taller countenances, warmer smiles, eyes twinking with hope. We are on the verge of a new tomorrow. We are on the verge of greater success in meeting those challenges that face our nation. We are united, stitched together in our hope that the coming year will bring with it the tools we need to positively alter the course of our future.

Almost as if Mother Nature wanted to gift us with a physical manifestation, the temperatures here are so frigid, it almost hurts to breathe. It made me realize that I have collectively been holding my breath for most of 2008-- hoping for a better economy, with more job security; hoping for an end to two mismanaged wars; hoping for the election to result in the emergence of a leader who will encourage and inspire us all to rise to our collective best as a nation.

Today, it was as if for the first time in a long, long time I've breathed that hope, even tasting its goodness.

Tomorrow, we will be taking in the sights-- visiting some of the Smithsonian exhibits, mapping our our spectator strategies for the coming week's events, and just enjoying one another's company, and the company of thousands of new friends who are here sharing in the celebrations at hand.