Can't help but love the new "First Family?"

I've been trying to decide how I should frame this post since Tuesday. I am so full of excitement, admiration and love for this new "First Family." I don't know that I ever sat in front of the TV for so long before (well as much as I could between interruptions by children) just wanting to drink deeply from the moment: people's reactions and feelings, the visuals of the various participants, the places and their significance for this country . . .

I started a running list of the reasons I feel such respect and admiration for President Obama and his family.

1. I love the fact that they are a young family trying to raise their daughters to be respectful and responsible. Of course many comment on how adorable the girls were on Tuesday!

2. I enjoy Michelle Obama's efforts to shorten the pedestal on which people have placed them by pointing out the ways they are ordinary -- or rather what Americans like to see as ordinary: a devoted family, a fun-loving couple and committed, hard-working citizens.

3. I admire Barak Obama's consistent efforts to remain respectful, even when he disagrees. It was clear that Vice President Joe Biden's jab yesterday at Chief Justice Robert for stumbling during the presidential oath did not please Obama.

4. I appreciate Obama's intentionality toward inclusion. He reportedly mentioned to GW Bush that he may be calling President Bush for advice in the coming days/months . . . interestingly, however, Bush's response made it clear that no, Obama would not need his advice and should depend on the advisors of his own administration now. Even so, I appreciate Obama's desire to find the good in people, and maintain relationships, even those with whom he so starkly contrasts.

5. I am energized by President Obama's global view through both his upbringing and acceptance of diversity. He knows how to capitalize on the diverse views, cultures, languages and backgrounds that make up the American people and their neighbors around the world. He is certainly not an Isolationist, rather has the courage to engage the issues and see the value in diverse perspectives.

6. As a result of #5 I feel comfortable and confident in President Obama's approach to international diplomacy. We might not come off looking like a superpower "over" others as much . . . but that is fine with me. I do trust, however, that we, as America under Obama's leadership, will exhibit respectful power to work "with" others in the international community, and for that I am so relieved.

7. I'm understanding more why people keep commenting on the "generational shift" that has occurred. Obama understands the mind-set of the generation above him, but also that of the younger generations. A few funny indicators I've thought about include technology. Like many in and around my generation who are so inclined and can afford to do so, he depends on his BlackBerry (I guess not anymore due to security reasons). Also, his campaign wisely utilized Facebook and blogging to connect to those even younger.

8. He is both self-aware and worldly aware so can connect across age, culture, but also economic barriers. His humble upbringing along side his experience living and working in Chicago stand in sharp contrast to his elite education. Yet all of that gives him extremely unique abilities to relate to people of all walks of life.

9. I loved the inaugural ceremony on Tuesday. The language was gracious and the spirit was uplifting.

"We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven . . . When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us."

(words from the Invocation by Pastor Rick Warren)

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things . . . And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity . . . For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness . . . We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth . . . This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny . . . and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

(excerpts from President Obama's speech)

"What if the mightiest word is love?"

(Praise Song for the Day, poem written and recited by Elizabeth Alexander)

"And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance . . . With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream."

(excerpts from the Benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery)

10. Finally, I can't help but smile to see that President Obama is left-handed. Actually, he joins 5 other presidents in this trait since WWII. Even though left-handedness has not always been accepted, I've always had this secret belief that left-handers are blessed in that they potentially can utilize more of their brains. Language is a left-brain function, but in lefties, it develops in both halves which, most researchers say, are more symmetrical in lefties. And Obama's left-handedness is a bit telling of his age, for my mother, a generation ahead of him, was a left-hander until she was severely disciplined in school penmanship classes, after which she had to re-train to being right-handed. What subtle freedoms we can enjoy these days! :-)

And so, back to Tuesday . . .

Tuesday was a cold day -- one on which many courageous people braved the temperatures to stand in that place, to experience what it is like to not just view history, but feel it and be a part of it. That evening, however, I was reminded that history is always remembered from the perspective of the writer. I was sitting in a Pep Boys Auto Store for 2 hours because the cold temperatures killed my mom's car battery. As I waited, I watched the newscasts recount the day. The father of a family sitting next to me also watched the reports. He shook his head a number of time disapprovingly and at one point said under his breath, "It's scarey!" I could not read his mind to know exactly what scared him. But his demeanor made it clear that he could not see nor feel the joy and hope that day brought, only the fear he had been told to hold for too long.

I could hardly contain myself, but I don't always have the courage to engage diverse viewpoints. I wanted to say, "there are many reasons this new 'first family,' has restored hope and faith and courage in me and in much of this country. Don't allow cynicism or fear to blind you!" At some point, we all need to make the choices between despair or joy, fear or faith, hate or love. For too long I was tempted with the former. Now is the time to take heart and live out the latter, what we know brings life and shines hope.