Change we can believe in

Tuesday night Mark and I sat glued to the TV, celebrating every state the turned blue, cheering as if we were watching our favorite team score points leading to winning the superbowl. We brushed off the red states and tried not to let them get us down. We were fighting for a winning team. Or at least we hoped so. Then, in silence, on the screen came what looked like a billboard with the words, “Obama, 44th President Elect, 2008.” We looked at each other with wide eyes. Was this a commercial? Wishful thinking? Another political advertisement? No. It was that moment. That moment in history that I will always remember. Right up there with them memory of the Berlin Wall coming down. The announcer came on and let the country and the world know that the race had been called. Barack Obama would be the next president of the United States. When Mark and I finally found words, we reflected on what an amazing time in history our children would be growing up in. Carter would see a black man as president and think nothing of it. I rejoiced that my boys would grow up in a country where someone who was something other than old and white and a war hero could be president. My heart filled with hope and pride.