Welcome, Mr. President

What an historic night it was! Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, who you voted for, or which candidate took the majority vote, we were destined to make history ... either with our first African American President, or our first woman Vice President. We spent quite a lot of time in my 3rd grade classroom over the past week discussing (and celebrating) our right to vote and make our voices heard in this country. What an incredible right that is! We talked about how at one time only white land-owning men could vote. How minorities were given the right in the 1800’s, but it took longer to make it safe and easy. How it took even more years before women, represented by half of our classroom, could have a voice. I almost got teary thinking about how those 8 year old girls will find it amazing to think that anyone would have denied them that right.

As we watched both McCain's concession speech (and what an incredible speech it was - a sign of his character and the kind of leader he is. Even the media seemed stunned by the eloquence and grace he displayed), and then Obama's acceptance, I felt emotional about his win. Witnessing this huge step that our country has taken - it is something that I will probably remember for the rest of my life, and I'm so grateful to have watched it happen in my lifetime. This made me think of Luke, 15 months old and snuggled into bed fast asleep: he will not remember the night. He will simply believe that our country has always been this way.

And THAT is so amazing and makes me proud to be an American!