I am having trouble believing that it wasn't all a dream. Did I really see the political map turning blue? Did I really see people dancing in Times Square, on Capital Hill, in Chicago? Did I really see Jesse Jackson crying? Did I really see and hear Jon Stewart call it for Obama and then take at least a minute to compose himself before he could speak again?
I really did. All those months, hoping and talking about why I wanted Obama to be President, giving away my Obama buttons and dreaming that this day might come. The reality of it was more than I had dreamed. Joy came out of me in the form of tears. I cried when Jon Stewart proclaimed Barack Obama the next President of the United States. I cried again when I saw the faces of the jubilant people in Times Square. I cried more when Barack and his family took the stage in Chicago. I cried again this morning when Bookworm called and yelled into the phone, WE DID IT!!!!
This morning I wanted to keep celebrating, so I watched morning TV to see the images again. This morning the pundits were wearing big grins, trying to hide them, of course, because they are supposed to be unbiased, but you could see how happy most of them were. We are happy. We are hopeful. We are buoyed up by the undeniable fact that America got it right this time. We are a sick country that finally chose health, after years of suffering. We know we did the thing that will be best for us. And we also chose to transcend race and to make Martin Luther King's dream come true. To be alive and present at this time in history is an honor.
4 comments:
Joy! My mom called this morning and told me to unpack - we don't have to move to Canada after all.
I took the girls up with me yesterday when I voted. Sadly there were no "I voted" stickers for them. On the way home, Alison took some pictures. The funny thing is that when I looked at those pictures later, 4 of them were pictures of Obama signs in our neighborhood. Maybe even a three year old understood the significance of this election.
My sister told me this morning that although Wisconsin was blue, our county went red. You wouldn't know it from our street. Maybe those red people are too embarrassed to put up signs.
Oh, but that reminds me, we actually saw a sign in someone's yard that said "Another Democrat for McCain". Really?!? I think I also saw their KKK hood drying on the clothesline.
My other favorite was a bumper sticker that read "My VP is hotter than your VP" because we all know that hotness is the most important qualification for bing the vice president.
I guess I'm rambling, but I still don't quite believe it either. I just hope that people remember to be patient because it will take a very long time to fix our broken country.
YEAH!!! I am still soooo excited! Having to sit next to a grumpy ultra-repub yesterday at work was sort of weird, though. Now they know how we felt four and eight years ago!!!
Kelly
Hey, I have to SLEEP next to a grumpy republican!!!! I had to beg him to let me celebrate for a couple of days before he started to be on Obama-Watch, looking for cracks in the armor and mistakes to come. I am not religious at all, but I have Faith that this man can do important things for our country. I am feeling the same way Michelle Obama did awhile back--for the first time in a long time I am proud of my country.
I thought it was hard sleeping next to a lawyer, but I can't imagine if he was a repub too! I'm sure all of the repubs will be looking for any faults they can find in Obama. Thankfully he's an intelligent, well-spoken man that can form sentences so the evening comedians probably won't have much to poke fun at :)
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