Inauguration Day--A Moment in History

I saw a commercial about the coverage Oprah will be having during the inauguration festivities last night. Something she said really caught my attention,

"You can feel the whole nation quivering w/excitement."

She right you can.

You can't listen/watch the news or read an article w/out it somehow referencing this upcoming event.
And there's a huge amount of irony associated w/this; we are currently in the worst economic shape since the depression; and predictions are that it's going to get worse before it gets better, but still there is this huge sense of hope that you can feel. Yeah, I know it's not the second coming, but it does feel a lot like a birth, or maybe a rebirth is a better word.

I mentioned in my last post that my 5YO doesn't understand the significance of this event. In the world she lives in, everyone is treated equal, why wouldn't they be. When does that change for us? When do we start treating people differently? I know why it happens, mostly because it's taught. But when do you start to notice it? Because she hasn't yet, and I would like to extend that for as long as possible.

I'm doing my best to do some things that I hope will give my girls memories of this day. We have our "Obama Girl" shirts and the weather is cooperating here in California so we won't have to cover them w/jackets. I'm taping everything and tonight her and I talked about it some more. She did mention that she's noticed that one of the boys in her class has darker skin then everyone else, I pointed out some of the other kids as well. I also pointed out that my skin is much darker than hers and her Uncle's skin puts us all to shame. She asked why and I told her that, that's how God made us unique & beautiful. I explained to her that a long time ago not everyone thought that different was good, and because of that someone like Barrack Obama could not have been president. That during that time people w/darker skin had to go to different schools and churches. She thought about it for a minute and said,
"Those people weren't very smart, were they?"

"No baby, they weren't. We know better know, but it took a long time for enough people to understand that so that some one like him could not only vote but be the person for which we're voting." "Now we really believe anyone can be president. Even you."

"I don't want to be president."

"Me neither baby. Too much responsibility. But we think he's really smart and that he'll do a really good job and we're excited that he does want to be. We think he's going to do the best he can, and that's all you can really ask from someone."

I was 8 months pregnant with her when we went to war in Iraq. I wrote her a letter at that time so that regardless of what history held of that event, she understood where her father and I stood. History might show that it was the right thing, but that we felt it was for the wrong reasons. I felt so desperate when I wrote that letter, what kind of a world was I bring this child into?"

That was five years ago. Now with inauguration happening in a second here, I feel hope.

I feel hope for the future and the world that my children will be living in. I feel good about some of the decisions our government will be making, for the right reasons. I know it's going to be hard. I'm ok with that. By having children I made a promise to try to give them a better place than I had. The whole "we're just borrowing the earth from our children" thing.

I am finally hopeful that I may be able to fulfill that promise to them.