January 20, 2025. Our eldest son’s second inauguration day, the first he might remember. My husband is a history teacher and we have been teaching our son about the importance of the day and what it means. I taught first grade for seven years which spanned over two election years. I was astounded by the way some of my students spoke about the current president or the president elect, often even using choice words. At six or seven years old you knew it was only from overhearing the adults in their lives speak about the candidates as they had no way of researching and learning things on their own. No matter the outcome of each election in our life time, I hope that my husband and I can explain and maintain the importance of dignity and respect that we should give the president of the United States of America. We can disagree with their policies and even personal life while still showing respect to them and their position of leadership. We can choose our words and tone carefully, especially while speaking in front of our sons. The pomp and circumstance of today’s ceremony emphasizes the dignity of the position and transition of responsibility and leadership that can be shown every four years.
Our four year old does not yet understand or appreciate the significance of today’s events, but he does understand and remember special food! We celebrated the event with hot dogs (his current favorite) and a cherry pie. I kept The First Ladies Cookbook from my Nana’s kitchen. I look forward to reading more of the stories about each first lady from Martha Washington to Nancy Reagan. We baked the cherry pie based off of a recipe from Mrs. McKinley’s kitchen with several adjustments. The first lady’s pie crust recipe was quite interesting since it calls for strained hard boiled egg yolks which I had not heard of. I used a different basic pie crust recipe and added orange juice instead of just ice water. I actually halved the filling recipe and swapped cherry liqueur for orange juice which is probably what made it a bit too runny. All in all, it was a fun activity to commemorate a historical day, MLK Day, and the hope for unity across the country.
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