Falling Out of the Blogosphere

     Oh my Lord, I've neglected my poor blog. It seems like after my colonoscopy post nine days ago, I just hit bottom. OH, COME ON, IT WAS JUST A HORRIBLE PUN! I DIDN'T KILL ANYONE, DID I? Now. Where was I? Well, it's funny you should ask.
     Most of the time since then, I've been in New Jersey, doing my New Jerseyish things. But last Sunday evening, despite having come down with a bad cold, I was on an Amtrak train headed down to D.C. That night, I was tossing and turning and coughing and sneezing in the bed my son gallantly gave up for me. And early Monday morning, I was heading out to the Capitol building with my son's two current roommates and his one college roommate, while my son waved us off and went back to bed. (Yeah, I can't figure that one out, either.) And later on Monday morning, I was standing in front of the Capitol, wearing a ridiculous number of clothing layers, and watching the Inauguration.
     What was it like? Different than I expected. The weather was warmer, fortunately. The crowds were smaller and more sedate. People were happy to be there, but not delirious, as they evidently had been four years ago. It was an audience that was taking care of business, mirroring the mood of a president determined to do the same. There was no soaring rhetoric from Obama; instead, there was a to-do list. He's learned all too well that a four-year term is really so much shorter than that; that for someone trying to achieve real change, time is never on your side. He spoke like a man with his eyes on a prize that he won't ever see in his lifetime. The prize is the judgment of history, and I fully believe that it will be his, although neither he or I might be alive by the time it's awarded.
     I had more personal reasons, too, for being glad I was there. I got to see Nate and his roommates in their natural habitat, to meet one of his law school friends who was over on Sunday to watch football, and to spend time with his wonderful, smart, funny, loyal, motivated friends and see how much they all love and respect each other. There is really nothing like the joy of seeing how your child who's left the nest has miraculously learned how to construct a temporary one of his own.
     So it was a weekend of blessings, followed by a week of ... work. Some writing, too. I still have my cold, though it's on its way out of my system. I've been playing around on Twitter more than usual. You know... just stuff, I guess.
     But it's nice to be back here, in Blogland, where I belong. I hope you all are somewhere where you belong too, and staying warm and snug. And I probably don't say this enough: thanks for visiting me here. It's a lonely world if you don't have friends to share it with.