Hope, Marching Bands, and A Great Yellow Dress

I've had the good luck to be home today watching the Inauguration festivities, and I've learned a few things.

First, there is NOTHING quite like listening to a speech that tingles the spine to make you think you can do something in this world. I flew home from Phoenix last night with a group of strangers who, by the end of the flight, were new friends. And we were all reminded that it doesn't take much to connect with people you don't know - a smile, a laugh, a glass of wine or a bad beer, a half marathon, whatever. But I think we all, acutely realized, in the last two rows of the plane, that there is something extraordinary about opening your minds and hearts to new people.

As I watched the festivities today, I couldn't help but realize that may be what we're all looking for. It's what's drawn 1.8 million people to the Capitol, to watch the new President take his oath - it's the hope that we can get to know our neighbors better, to fix our country one step at a time - to help one another out, and to believe that while good days are behind us, they are ahead of us too.

Anyway, that said, nothing quite says "fun" like the Grambling marching band. I mean, man - I would go anywhere to see them play - or, frankly, the Howard University Marching Band. I gotta find a way to get them in my alarm clock in the morning, because I would JUMP out of bed...

Finally, I gotta say, as a tall woman with curves of her own, I can only aspire to looking as good as Michelle does today. She is exactly what many young girls aspire to be - a successful, smart, educated woman, who can put on a fantastic outfit, mother some wonderful girls, and be part of a partnership that can withstand some pretty tough challenges. And if you don't believe that's inspiring, well, you just shouldn't talk to me for a few days...

I can't wait to see what comes next....