The Change

1.4 million. That was the estimate of how many people came from all over the country to descend on the national Mall and witness the swearing in of Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. I can't attest to the final accuracy of that estimate but I do know there were a LOT of people in Washington, DC today!

We watched the ceremony from the comfort of our friends' house actually. We still don't have a TV and were not prepared to take Pablo out into the cold (10 degrees with the wind chill), so we begged a spot in front of our neighbors' new teli. I was actually ready to jump on my bike around 11 and head down to the Mall to see what I could take in of the crowd - just watching the coverage made me eager to be part of it all. I mean here we are living in DC and we weren't there! But then nap time came and I realized that nursing my baby to sleep still takes priority over historic moments of political history.

I did pedal down after the swearing in, and after nap time, to see if I could get close to the parade route or catch some of the lingering vibes of the crowd. I mostly just saw streams - rivers, my friend said - of people walking the streets, heading home to warm their frozen toes and fingers. Much of downtown DC was blocked off, so it was hard to get anywhere directly, but it did make for an easy time biking streets that would normally be bumper to bumper with traffic. I did see some of what the crowds left behind as well, piles of trash littering the streets in every direction. Little flags and hats and scarves left behind. Even an abandoned stroller that made for an eerie sight on a trash littered empty street.

And I did catch a bit of the vibe. The determination of people who came so far to catch at least a glimpse of this new president who has already become a familiar face on our TVs and computer screens. The jubilation and party atmosphere as hundreds of thousands people celebrated the end of the worst presidency in our history and the beginning of one of the most hopeful. People were still leading cheers on the streets here and there, and the Obama paraphanalia was still selling on the street corners.

But the big moment had passed. And most people were on their way home. Happy to be able to say, I was there, and only slightly frozen in the process. Tomorrow, we'll all get up again and go to work or take the kids to school or go look for work or do whatever we do on a regular Wednesday morning. Not that much will have changed. And yet, so much will be different.

For example, by the time Pablo becomes interested in politics (if he ever does), Obama will be a president of the past. The U.S. having an African-American president will simply be a normal part of our history. What an amazing change has already taken place.

(I do pity the street cleaning crew tonight, though. They're the ones who really deserve those free foot warmers they were passing out.)