YES WE CAN

Last night, 8pm, our family gathered all together on our bed.... tears streaming down marcelo and my's face....children bouncing up and down singing 'yes we can' yes we can' 'obama' 'obama'.
A night that we will remember for the rest of our lives, one our children will tell their children and grandchildren about.

I am not blind or crazy enough to think that President elect obama (I love saying that) is going to be able to sweep into washington and solve all of our problems for us. It was a long hard road to this point but I truly believe that now is when the hard work really begins. What brings the tears is the hope and possibilies that this choice brings. My heart overflows with joy and my eyes fill with tears even at this moment looking at my children. The idea that a woman or persons of any color could not acheive or rise to the highest of possibilities will not even be a concept in the world they grow up in.

On an even more personal level for me I look at the contrast between my husbands fingers intertwined with mine and words cannot describe my emotion. Dark skin on light....our love refelcted in the very different looks of our offspring. My mind remembers the concern and skepticism from others at our interacial marriage.....my own confusion about how color or race could even be a factor to them..... I am proud of our country right now, proud at the ability of americans from every walk of life, finally able to rise above the pettiness and silliness of race color creed sex to finally see a man (or woman) for his spirit, his convictions, his ideals and not by his face.

Great hope fills America now....just imagine how far we have come today from yesterday....I believe in the greatness of the country and what we can achieve when we rise up and stand together.

Viva America

It is now afternoon and I've been out and about all day and had time to get some reactions to this post. It is wonderful the aura of hope and smiles I have seen today but after talking to some I feel the need to clarify my statements. I would NEVER vote for someone based on the color of his skin, that would be just as racist as not voting for someone for the same reason. From the first time I saw Barack Obama speak I felt his message of change and saw his love of country, his desire to help our great country rise back up to its potential. Then as his campaign progressed I saw him putting his words into action...in the very way that he chose to run his campaign there was change. Marcelo and I are proud to say that we were able to contribute what little we could to the campaign.

I voted for Obama not for the color of his skin but because I strongly believe and herald the ideals that he stands for.

Now, with that said, it is impossible to recognize that on top of that this is a great historical moment for this country and for the world. Racism, sexism...none of these 'ism's' have ever made sense to me but that doesn't mean that they haven't or don't still exist. Until you see your father in law's eyes fill with tears of rage at having his family sat in the hidden back of an empty restaurant or the embarrisment at being openly followed in a predominantly white store; having those you have admired advize you against marrying interratially because "its just to hard"; to have strangers ask "where did you adopt your daughter from" just because she looks different then me and so couldn't possibly be my own (i must have rescued some poor third world country baby) and countless other moments that I have experienced since I finally became more aware -it is to open your eyes and see the world for what it is (the good and the bad) that is what it takes to fully understand the weightyness of this moment.

It is my prayer and hope that this election marks a turning point for the world...that my children who are both white and colored will never experience a moment like that.

(I apologize for all of the run on sentances and bad grammer I was writing just as I thought today, which isn't always grammatically correct)