Day309 - Mr. Obama goes to Washington

Tuesday, November 4, 2008: New President

I am, of course, writing this entry about a month later than it actually happened and I also am doing so with a clearly faulty memory. Even so, I will try to relate a little about that day and night.

Troy and I voted early in the morning. I was in fact #50 at my local polling place and only had to wait for about 30 seconds to actually vote. Troy cast his before me while I used a Benninghoff pen a nice older gentleman handed to me on our way in the polling place.

I remember all my friends excitedly telling me when they voted, giving updates on the polling place lines if there were any. Most we optimistic - even if it was guarded optimism. Everyone had already come up with a back-up plan, listing all the countries that would take them if their candidate would loose.

That night, Troy and I went to Anna's first birthday party and watched the initial vote tally while watching kids toddle around the living room. I spent the 2004 election in that living room, and I remember clearly leaving there with hope that Kerry could pull through even though I wouldn't find out definitely that he would not until the next morning. Ohio became a 4-letter word.

After the party we came back to our little living room and Troy and I watched the returns, switching from MSNBC to CNN, wonkette.com to daily kos to fivethirtyeight.com. It was simultaneously electric and terrifying. Our local candidates did not do so well, but other candidates that I donated to across the country faired a better.

Troy was in and out of sleep by the time Obama came to give his acceptance speech. I cried. My friends cried. I received loads and loads of text with "I've never been so proud!" and "Thank god!" and "I'm crying!" It was wonderful. I talked with Yana video iChat and we were so excited about the future.

I am still excited about the future.

But I still have a little bit of a guard up. Can we really hope - especially when our country has gone to shit so fast? I want to hope, and I continue to do so even if I'm not a fan of all of Obama's cabinet appointments. I still believe that we as a country can be better than what we are right now. What we have been in the past. If Obama can do that - then I will stop looking for real estate in Canada.