Monday Funday (hey, why not?)

This morning I forced Ava to watch President Obama's inauguration with me. I made her sit with me from the time the distinguished guests began to come out the archway at the Capitol until the Star Spangled Banner completed its final not - about an hour and a half in total. She was not super thrilled in the beginning, but became more and more interested as I explained different things to her: who the people were, what they were doing, why we do this, how special it is that we do this. I felt much of the same pride I felt on Election Day. Today was great because we live in a country where we as people have a voice and the power to have that voice heard. Whether the person sworn in is who I voted for or not, this is now my President for the next four years, and it is my responsibility as an American citizen to respect the people who were elected into office. It seems the last few elections there has been a growing disrespect for the people in political office by the people who did not vote for the winner. The whole point of democracy is that we all get an opinion, and sometimes our opinion is shared with the majority and sometimes it isn't. We are all Americans, and should support each other and work together to continue to improve our nation, not cut each other down for not thinking the same way. I showed Ava on the television all the hundreds of thousands of people standing in a spot we have been to ourselves. I explained to her that many of those people had traveled from all over the country to see this special ceremony in person. I hope that today she was able to understand just a little better what a privilege it is to live in our nation.

Then this evening we had a gathering of the Three Families - Sewards, Halls, and Foleys. As usual, it was moderate chaos - kids playing in several rooms all over the house, the men retreating downstairs to Ben's Man Cave, and the women enjoying distracted kids and husbands and having some uninterrupted conversations. We are 6 adults with a few shared traits - all military men, former or present, and all stay-at-home moms on some level; but we are very different as well - we grew up all over the country, have our own quirks and hobbies. Sharon is a terrific cook and baker, where I like to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. Ben is Mr. Handy, while Logan is probably safest upstairs watching football with me. Our children are growing up together more as family than friends - they like to play together some of the time, but are perfectly content playing on their own at other times. I feel so blessed to have found this little smorgasbord of a makeshift family. They make my life at times more bearable and always brighter.