Reflection on the election

The morning of the election, I told Scott, "If McCain wins, I'm going to cry."

As it turns out, I cried anyway.

When the results started being posted on the news websites, I checked in. I tried to distract myself. But unlike the last election, where hid and then went to bed early, I had to keep looking. I tried not to get my hopes up when the early numbers looked good, and I couldn't quite believe the victory was sealed even when the numbers midway through looked fabulous. When the numbers were in the 300's, I finally believed it. And I cried.

I cried with relief, for the hope of a better future, and with the release of all the energy I spent over the past few months trying not to get my hopes up. And later that night, when I clicked to watch Obama's acceptance speech, I watched him and his family walk out and I cried again: with awe and pride that our country has already come this far, for his girls who can look at their father and say "My dad is president" and skin color bedamned, and for my own girls who will grow up with a president who doesn't look like us. I wanted to wake them up and hug them and tell them that the world had changed for the better, but knowing they wouldn't understand I just cried outside their door. Hopefully someday they will be able to understand how important and huge Obama's election is, while still feeling it's normal.