So I was sitting in the doctor's office today...

waiting for my turn to help make the doctor a little wealthier, when the Inauguration began. It was one of those deals where I rushed to the 10am appointment only to spend a couple of hours waiting in the lobby. After being called to the examination room, I spent another hour waiting there. When the doctor arrived, it only took him about 3.5 minutes to say that he could not help me and then he referred me to another doctor. The soonest available appointment is a month away. "What a waste of time," you may be thinking.

However, I benefited from waiting in the lobby and watching the Inauguration. Sometimes I get so busy in the hustle and bustle of work that I forget about some of the special things that we as Americans get to enjoy and probably take for granted. There are special perks to being an American, afterall, so it is quite easy to take them for granted.

Aretha Franklin was singing a song and the camera zoomed in on our American flag. The red, white, and blue waved so freely in the strong, gusting winds that it was almost as if it was smiling. It was, indeed, free. Next, the camera panned out to the millions of people standing together on the White House grounds taking in the moment.

When we see media clips on the news from Iraq, Iran, and other countries, you almost always see people running from building to building with a firearm in their hands. You almost always see some form of destruction among the buildings in the background of these scenes. In America, you almost always see people smiling, talking, divided on certain issues, but nonetheless, together.

You see the green grass under our feet instead of the clay and dirt. You see the beautiful blue skies instead of smoke-filled ones. You see a land of the proud and of the free.

I was reminded today, while sitting in the doctor's office complaining of the time that I was losing, that many people have lost their lives so that we could have what we received today. I became proud all over again today to be an American. Not because of the history that was being made, but because of the opportunities. Americans have the opportunity to run for office if they choose and to vote, without fear for their life, for whomever they choose. We can openly discuss our different views and are not imprisoned for it.

While some of us are complaining about things occuring in our country, others are swimming or rowing across the Gulf of Mexico and walking across the desert to get here. What a great place it must be for those to be willing to put forth such physical effort..to leave their families and homeland.

May God bless America, and may He use each and everyone of us to make it a better place.