Well, it’s not really my inaugural blog – it’s my blog about yesterday’s inauguration. I’m sure I am echoing the sentiments of many when I say this, but it’s astonishing to me how the peaceful fulfillment of the democratic process fills me with an increasing sense of awe, year after year.

I’m a fairly worldly person, generally, and I’ve been known to have a cynical streak — especially when it comes to our government. But listening to President Obama’s speech yesterday, seeing the crowd of 1.5 million plus gathered in peace, and watching the solemn yet vibrant exchange of power from one administration to the other…. I realized again how lucky we are to live in such a country.

In many places around the world, the voice of the population is not heard in any semblance of democratic process. A change of power in those places often means violence, recriminations, loss of personal property and the summary execution of dissenters.

As I watched the dignified public ceremony yesterday, my bitterness with the old administration and my wariness of the new one faded into the background — at least for a while. For a few minutes I was not a Libertarian, a cynic, an angry taxpayer, or anything else.

I was just an American.

The gratitude and pride I felt was tremendous. What a blessing to be in my living room — basically free and basically safe — sitting next to the person most important to me, watching history happen before our eyes, and wondering hopefully about the future.

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.