historic

I'm not a political blogger and have tried to stay far away from the subject of the election. I have my opinions and beliefs, but I usually keep them to myself- I don't try to convince anyone else and I don't want them to try to convince me. But I was not unaffected by the frenzy of the 2008 election: this year I did something I've not done before- I put out a yard sign. One of probably 40 on our street, and 35 of them were for the same candidate. But it still felt like a declaration to me. 39 years old, and I'm still learning to speak out about what I believe.

I woke up on Election Day feeling as excited as I do on Christmas morning. And when I turned on the tv Wednesday morning at 5 (I went to bed at 10, not guessing the race would be decided so quickly), and saw the news "Obama Makes History", I cried. Not just because my candidate had won- I always vote for the Democrat- sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. I cried because I never dreamed we'd see a black president with a funny-sounding name in my lifetime. That's what gives me hope about this election- maybe our country is not as bitter and frightened and cynical and divided as I thought.

My kids will grow up knowing that a man's race is as irrelevant to his ability to be president as is his shoe size or his middle name.

There's a lot I want to say about this election, but it's all being said so well by others already... I don't know how to gather my thoughts. I just don't ever remember feeling this excited on Election Day. It's nice to have the idealism and optimism back for a little while.