A Day for the History Books

I have been on this earth for the past 43 years and there are a handful of those “I remember where I was” moments and today was certainly one of those moments. Actually it was bigger than just a moment it was of historical significance. First off I must say that I didn’t believe Barack Obama would be the President of the United States I thought it would have been Hillary Clinton but I was wrong. I thought the “Politico” would have then Mr. Obama wait 8 years but it was apparent that the time was right for a change and it certainly appears President Obama is the right person at this point in time. It is amazing how right he seems to be but he certainly faces a tall order and I think the next few years are going to be very difficult for this country but it appears at least there will be a great deal of doing as opposed to just trying.

This morning I made it a point to watch the inauguration and was transfixed all the way through to the speech. This was the biggest historic moment I have ever experienced and I was so happy to hear that my daughter and son were able to watch the inauguration while they were at school. I doubt very much that the two of them understand the significance of this day and really why would they because they know no bias. Prejudice is something that is learned and that is a poor choice of a word because prejudice should not be “learned” but I guess that is how life works. Anyhow my daughter and son did watch this historic moment and hopefully in 30 years when they have children of their own they will explain the significance of this day.

The best quote I heard today came very early before all the festivities from NBC’s Tom Brokaw who put it all very simply and said, “This is a GOOD day for the United States.” I let that simple statement sink in and yes, whatever a person may think about President Obama this is a GOOD day for the United States knowing what a conundrum we have been over the past 200 plus years. This is the greatest nation on earth that just doesn’t know who it wants to be. I think we want to be all things to all people and that is just not possible but anything is possible in this country as was witnessed today. Today has been a long time coming and it is about time. It is GOOD in every way and that is undeniable; yes, there are many problems in this country and no President Obama cannot walk on water and will have a tough time over the next few years. I do hope things get better before they get worse but no matter what happen today was a big step forward for this country and for the people of our great nation.

I did manage to get some work done this afternoon and later on this evening I made my way to the Tuesday evening Gamblers Anonymous meeting. I hadn’t fulfilled my commitment this week of going to at least one meeting per week and tonight was the last night to fulfill this commitment. I am so happy I made my way to the meeting because I saw a few members I haven’t seen in a very long time. This program certainly works in every way possible and yes, there are some horror stories associated with the program but tonight it was “all good” just like this day for the country. If I start thinking that I am “cured” or I know better than the next person in the meeting I am not recovering I am falling. The program keeps me on track with my recovery and by being involved with the program makes my life so much better than it has ever been.

I doubt very much that if I weren’t in recovery I would have been as interested in today’s events. Thankfully I understand there is so much more to life than placing that next wager. I was the “dog chasing his tail” back when I was gambling and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get that “tail”. Now thankfully in recovery I don’t have to concern myself with any “chasing” since life is best lived one day at a time and today was a wonderful day through and through.