in History that I could actually be a part of and that I would kick myself if I missed the opportunity to be there in person. I thought of all of the reasons why I shouldn’t go but the one reason why I should go trumped all excuses.

As the mother of a young black man who is witnessing the rebirth of a nation, seeing the destruction of the glass ceiling and the ascension of a Black man into the most powerful seat in the Free World is something my son needed to witness. I had mixed emotions as I boarded the bus—fear of the unknown and excitement over the events yet to come battled within me. I had to shake off the fears that friends and family had regarding me taking my son “alone” to D.C. We were not alone! We were on a bus full of people

and it was evident that everyone on the bus felt the same way. Thoughts of violence by the KKK or getting separated from the group and lost in a sea of millions were not going to sway us from being a part of this day.

As the bus pulled out of Harlem my stomach began to settle, I was on my way and there was no turning back. Tim Grae welcomed everyone on the bus and spoke on the importance of our trip. He concluded his greeting by wishing his mother a happy birthday and passing out cake that one of the young ladies on board made especially for his mom. This act brought another sense of relief. I realized not only was I not alone on the trip but I was among family.Our hotel accommodations were switched last minute but I guess everyone figured something like that might happen so no one really cared. I think as long as we had a hotel to go to everyone was satisfied. We pulled into the Lancaster Resort early Sunday evening and waited while the members of GRAE Enterprises checked us in and retrieved our room keys.We reconvened in the hotel lobby a little while later and headed over to dinner. When we stepped into the first restaurant it seemed as if the music stopped and all eyes were on the forty black faces that had just come through the door. I scanned the room for another black face but couldn’t spot one, not even in the kitchen. We walked out as energetically as we walked in and headed over to Applebee’s. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the night.

True to GRAE swagger, there was a party that evening in the hotel and massages being given by Healing Hands. The open bar and DJ kept the party going as the kids retired to their own party stocked with video games and snacks. The party went on until the early hours of the morning ending just a few hours before breakfast.

At breakfast Monday morning, the itinerary for the day was hashed out and people decided what activity to be a part of. My son and I took a walk around the Resort to explore its amenities; there was an indoor pool, an exercise room, a restaurant/bar and a Kids playroom. We decided to skip the morning trip to the outlet mall and hang out in the Kids Zone while we waited for the afternoon bowling trip. More people headed for the Inauguration had arrived at the hotel that morning and some of them decided to come bowling as well. Once again, a bus load of forty black faces descended on the locals, not that we really cared or batted an eye about the reactions we received. If having a black President had done anything already, it had confirmed that we had a place in America and were not confined to the inner cities we came from.

A trip that may have once been awkward for us suddenly didn’t matter. We could go anywhere we wanted and right then we wanted to bowl! The lanes came alive with the sounds of our laughter; we shut their kitchen down as we ordered an amount of snacks and food that they probably hadn’t imagined they would go through in one day let alone one hour.

We left just as freely as we had come and headed back to the hotel. It was time to get ready for the Inaugural Banquet in the main ballroom of the hotel. The ballroom was fabulously patriotic; there were party favors and hats at every table and streams of red, white and blue balloons everywhere. The MC got the party started with an old school dance contest and a name that song game. We dined on southern cuisine and once again enjoyed an open bar. Hundreds of people were at the banquet, quite possibly the entire hotel. The mood was electrifying. Dinner was followed by a comedy show that was quickly ended for one comedian who didn’t grasp the concept of family fun. He was escorted off the stage with the assistance of the crowd. Never in my life had I seen some one booed of the stage with New Year’s Eve noisemakers. The next comedian fared better but lamented on how awkward his ride home was going to be with his partner who had just been booed. It was suggested that every time his friend tried to speak he blow the noisemaker in his face. After the show, tables were cleared and the dance floor opened up. It had been discussed that directly after the party we had to head on the bus to geta jump on traffic. 3 am Tuesday morning our bus pulled out of the Lancaster Resort, D.C. bound. The only one left awake on the bus must have been the driver; I don’t think anyone else on the bus had had a full night’s rest in the past few days. We awoke to find ourselves at RFK Stadium. Tim got on the horn and explained what was going to happen; we had to get on a shuttle to the National Mall and we had to stay together. Everyone partnered up and made sure they had the right phone numbers in case of an emergency—a safety protocol that we would later find to be useless as no one could use his or her cell phones once we arrived at the National Mall.

We saw day break as we waited for the shuttle. After two hours huddled together in near freezing weather we boarded our bus. Frigid temperatures could not prevail against the fire we felt inside; we were moments away from witnessing history and nothing could take away from that excitement. The highway leading into DC seemed barren; except for emergency vehicles and shuttle buses, no other traffic was allowed. We could see miles of people walking before we were even close to the Capitol Building. Vendors blended in with the masses selling everything from toe warmers to Obama refrigerator magnets. It was my first time at a large event where bottled water was not the most valued commodity; coffee and hot chocolate sold just as quickly as Obama pins and key chains. We walked among the crowd stopping every so often to make sure no one had been separated. The energy and excitement took the attention away from the fact that we had been in freezing weather for hours and the day had just begun.

The crowd was so massive that all we could do was literally “go with the flow”; we found a good spot in front of the Washington Monument and settled in. The sun was high in the sky and bringing well-received warmth to our part of the crowd. We stood shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers and basked under the warmth of the sunlight. I looked over at Tim and Tracy, two of the members of the Grae family; the look of pride and relief in their faces were priceless. They had sponsored a trip of a lifetime and had gotten everyone to the Inauguration as promised. I looked over at my son and he winked at me. As the music began, I bowed my head and said a small prayer. We had made it; in every sense of the word, we had made it.

I am the past, present, and future…I made, I am, and I will make history!

Story by: Nakia M.G.