Mr. President....

Of the many crazy wonderful things I have done in my life, one of the biggest honors that I have had was to see President Obama speak in his first public appearance outside of the White House. The feeling that overwhelmed me was honor. For a short period of time I - Me - I - sat in a room with the President of the United States. The whole situation was incredibly surreal. It almost felt like a West Wing episode.

I spent a lot of time trying to put words to my assessment of President Obama. I'm not quite sure I have yet succeeded. Here is what I was impressed with. He came out without a shred of pomp and circumstance. He just showed up... no band... no big announcements. The forum was that of a town hall meeting. I expected the questions to be pre-screened or planted. They weren't. Funny - but as I realized that I squirmed when each question was asked. I worried each time that the question would make us as a city look bad. There wasn't much substance... but there was an honest exchange of ideas.

As I walked into the house later and my children were still talking about what they experienced, I realized what I took away from the day was being a part of history. I was there. My kids were there. My husband was there... which for me - normal, everyday me... is pretty cool.