O Happy Day!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Last week was simply amazing. So much so I had to flesh out my thoughts in my private journal first, and here's the summary. . .
On Tuesday November 4, 2008, I woke up energized and ready. When I stepped outside I immediately thanked God for the beautiful day. I arrived at my polling place at 6:10am, and by 6:45am I was walking to the train station after casting my vote for Senator Barak Obama (And yes, I did take a picture while behind the curtain!). I was both efficient and distracted at work. On the one hand, I got a ton of work done. . . and on the other, I could not wait to leave and get home to watch the coverage. I left my job at 6pm, and by the time I got home, decompressed, and took a shower, all of the stations showed Obama ahead in the electoral votes. Then the news bureaus projected Mr. Obama won the battleground state of Pennsylvania. I was nervous and "cautiously optimistic", the past two presidential elections were stolen, and was I just praying that nothing shady happened this time. For one, I truly believe this country needs change and Obama is the man for the job, and two, I was nervous about what could happen if there was a repeat of 2000, and the less publicized shenanigans of 2004 (Ohio). People are tired, weary, and these are desperate times. The perfect environment for something to jump off.
By the time they declared Mr. Obama "President-Elect Obama", I was through. I was ecstatic, so much so, that I had a happy headache. And of course, I was a little misty-eyed. When the family walked on the stage, I was smiling from ear to ear, and when my president started speaking a tear rolled out of my right eye (it always starts there, I don't know why ;)
I eventually drifted off to sleep, after the speech of course, as happy a kid on Christmas Eve. I woke up feeling renewed and re-energized, and as corny as it sounds I could feel change in the air. I hope that lasts, but even if the excitement dies down, I know I've been changed. Usually, this time of year I think about some things I want to improve on in the next year. And, while I hate to admit it, my list thus far includes a lot of superficial stuff. However, what happened this week makes me want to get real clear about my purpose, about giving back, about truly connecting with people who are also interested in giving back and doing the hard work, and most importantly, becoming more prayerful. This might mean I need to re-evaluate my current volunteer work, but whatever it is, I want to do my part for CHANGE.
