January 20, 2009

Hi, Danny.

I'm sure you're at daycare right now, not a care in the world. You may have just eaten lunch, or hugged your girlfriend, or asked for a pacifier ("A pa-see? A pa-see?").

You probably have no idea that our new president, Barack Obama, just got sworn into office. One day, when you're old enough to understand, I'll tell you all about this day.

I'll tell you how I watched it at work with some of my coworkers, while we ate pizza and I tried not to cry. Your Dad laughed at how hard I was crying yesterday, watching a special concert they had in Washington D.C. for Obama at the Lincoln Memorial. I watched U2 sing "Pride (in the name of love)", and cried really hard when I thought about Bono writing the lyrics about Martin Luther King Jr, who once stood right where Bono sang and gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Hopefully, we'll be able to visit DC together and talk about all of these things.

I'm sure you'll learn about all of these things in school, and read about them in your history books, but I'm here to tell you about stuff that you won't be able to read.

You won't read about how I felt when, after falling asleep with you on election night, I turned on the television to see who'd won. When I changed the channel to CNN and saw, "Barack Obama Elected President" across the bottom of the screen, I looked at you and started to cry. I sat there, crying and shaking my head, for a good ten minutes. I absolutely could not believe it.

Before you were born and up until you were almost a year and a half, George Bush was president. I never liked him. Hopefully, they'll still have YouTube when you grow up, so I can show you his "Top Ten Moments" from David Letterman. You'll understand why.

The thing is, George Bush really wasn't that great of a president. We were (and are, as I type this now) involved in a war, which many people (including me) are against. While I was finishing school, I counseled people coming back from that war, and the things they told me are things that I will never forget, and are things that no one deserves to have to go through. George Bush never could quite explain why were were at war, didn't seem to have any idea of when the war would be over, or when our troops could come home. Although I try not to think of it often, I'm still haunted by what those veterans have told me, and have cried while walking you through airports in your stroller, seeing those men and women leaving to fight this war, this pointless war. As I'm typing this now, I'm listening to the helicopter take Bush away and back to Texas, where he's from. Good riddance. That's how I feel now.

The past two times I've been allowed to vote, I was horribly disappointed. Bush was elected not once, but twice, and after that second time, I almost lost hope. I remember crying for a totally different reason when he was elected over John Kerry, who I really thought would win. I felt horribly defeated. I felt like my vote didn't matter. I felt small, and I also felt like I lived in a country that didn't represent how I felt. That was a horrible feeling.

I remember seeing Barack for the first time on Oprah. He was only a senator then, and the next election was at least three and a half years away. I heard him talk, and I thought YES, I like this guy. He could really be something. Little did I know.

This election was easily the most exciting election of all time. People who never liked politics found themselves getting involved. Your great grandparents (Nonny and Grandaddy) were staunch supporters of Obama.

Part of what made me cry so hard yesterday and election night was the fact that Nonny was alive to see this. Before you were born, right around the time that your Dad and I met, Nonny cried as she told me about how her own father threatened to disown her as she fought against segregation in schools. I know, the thought of separating children because of their color is something that's almost unimaginable now, but some people who are still alive today remember it like it was yesterday. Nonny and Grandaddy are the reason why your grandmother (who you don't really have a name for yet) is so accepting of others, and they all are the reasons why I try to be understanding and accepting as well.

Before this election, I was always excited to vote, but I've never felt such a deep sense of responsibility as I did this year. Not only was I voting for what I thought to be important, I was also thinking of what was important to you. I considered things like health care and national security. I wanted what was best for myself and the country, but more importantly, I wanted what was best for you.

I feel proud knowing that you'll read this, and that we can talk about where I was when I found out Obama was elected (with you) and who I thought about when he was sworn into office (again, you). There is new hope for our country now, and that hope has restored my faith in politics and the American people. I feel proud knowing that I helped make this happen, that my vote did count.

I also feel proud knowing that I helped elect a man that you may look up to one day as a role model. Someone who has character, integrity, and charisma, all things I hope for you to have one day. He is also someone biracial, like you, and someone that redefines what the face of politics is.

So, at this moment while you ask for your pacifier and I sit typing, let me remember how I felt, so I can tell you all about it one day.