Obama's Inauguration and Our Son

This morning was an exciting one at our house, in houses and schools and businesses and, oh, I could go on all day. I didn't get to watch any of the inaugural preamble on television until after dropping our youngest son at school, and our older son was watching it at his high school, and my wife and our daughter were huddled in our basement readying themselves for the big moment.

Actually, I saw moments of it on the television in our youngest son's classroom, and was amazed that it was on for the K2 high-functioning autism class, though I expect it was more for the teachers who didn't want to miss a moment, and the parents who were standing around saying they'd never been this excited about a new president, than for the kids. Though I'd tried, on our way to school, to explain why it was such a momentous moment in history, some of which will sink in and stick, though I hated to implant knowledge of intolerance in his unbiased brain, even while extolling today's triumph.

Though when I turned away from the television in his classroom, I saw him strong-arming his favorite fellow classmate and insisting on telling him why it was so important that Obama was elected, refusing to let go even as I was prying his fingers off the other kid's coat, and continuing his rant about how McCain would have been bad for his family and wouldn't let his moms love each other and be married if he was elected (I'd explained our support of Obama by noting his greater support for our right to marry, and McCain's opposition to same-sex marriage--this was before the debates). So our young son was a fervent pro-Obaman who needed to tell his friend just how personally important Obama's election was for him.

After succeeding in separating him from his self-appointed task (and explaining it to his teacher in case he got on the pulpit again during the day), I got to listen to the radio on the way home, and heard Dianne Feinstein's stirring speech, so I was already crying by the time I walked in the door. It was like election night all over again, and there were American flags flying on our street, and if I'd had one, I'd have hung one,too.