Tuesday, January 13, 2009

This is the story of a scaredy cat mom



Well, after much thought and consideration, I decided NOT to take Olivia down to the Inauguration.

And I even had tickets!!

I know, I know......I have really mixed feelings about it.

Olivia, however, doesn't have mixed feelings at all. She's just plain pissed at me.

On the one hand - WOW! How cool to go to such an historic event.
How wonderful for my daughter to be able to experience it at such a young age.
What an amazing thing to see IN PERSON.
On the other hand -what a logistical nightmare the day would be.....
After reading up on the events of the day and our transportation options (which SUCK when going to DC on a normal day), I figured we'd have to get up and out the door no later than 6 AM to try and catch the Marc train which would put us in DC - with all of the delays, extra security, and two billion people headed there as well - hopefully before 9 AM. Which meant that we would then have quite a hike to our allotted roped off "Space" (near the Capitol) where we would then have to stand, in the cold, with no sign a port-a-pot anywhere, for several hours, risking being trampled, dealing the crowds, the security, etc., etc., etc., all in the hopes that we could see a glimpse of the parade or jumbo tron. I think if it wasn't just me and Liv, I would have considered it more. But I didn't know anyone else who had tickets and quite frankly I was just a tad bit chickenshit that somehow Olivia and I would get separated and/or - God Forbid - something really bad would happen and we'd be stuck in DC trying to get out of the city with all of the other millions of people.

When it came right down to it, I wasn't willing to stand in the cold for hours, with no potty, no food, no drink (unless of course I was willing to pay $20 for a bottle of water from some random vendor) and an 8 year old who would be SO OVER IT after about a half an hour.

The other reason, the REAL reason, the one which I keep pushing out of my head, is that I was worried I would be putting the welfare and safety of my child at risk.

And I'm just not willing to do that.

So, we're staying home. The kids are off school and we'll have a few friends over and watch it on our nice big TV, in HD, in the warmth and comfort of our home. We'll probably see more and we'll certainly be more comfortable.

It definitely won't be the same.

But it'll be great, nonetheless.

1 comment:

Mels Place in Big Bear said...

I am so excited for you. Did you catch Bush on Larry King? Fascinating. We're in for a wild ride as the transition takes place.