In a word...

Electrifying.

That is the flavor of the night. In fact, that has been the flavor, at least for me, for the past 12 months. And if I get to the heart of the matter, that has been the hope for me since 2004.

I had heard of Barack Obama before 2004 – mostly in quips about his name, his status in Congress, what not. But I didn’t know much about the man or his politics. I never really paid attention to a senatorial candidate from Illinois…I guess I didn’t see the need. But in a streaming video from my computer at work, I watched this man deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. A convention where the Democratic Party nominated a candidate I could not get behind and because of that, I didn’t even bother to watch the DNC on TV. But sitting at my computer, I watched the keynote speaker and I KNEW there was a candidate I could get behind. Now at the time I first saw this address, I was newly pregnant with my oldest son. Granted, I was bubbling with hormones, but I was overwhelmed with emotion. As I am now on this historic night.

Here are the words that hooked me…4 years and 4 months ago.

“it's not enough for just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga. A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sisters' keeper -- that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. "E pluribus unum." Out of many, one.”

This is the truth that I hold deep to my heart. This is the EXACT truth that I had decided long ago to pass on to my children. No matter what I do as a mother, if my children grow to adulthood with the value of the importance of their individualism within a GLOBAL community, then I have done my job. As a parent, you determine which values are nearest and dearest to your heart, those that will drive many of your parenting decisions. This has been mine; that my children understand that they are connected to everyone on this earth. That they are respectful of ALL people, no matter their race, their age, their socioeconomic status, and NO MATTER their circumstances. That because they may have plenty – there are PLENTY out there that do not. And that it is their duty, their obligation, to help, to motivate, to DO SOMETHING to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and love. That they must strive to a benevolent life.

President-elect Obama has been my candidate from the very beginning of this presidential race. I will say that I would not have been terribly disappointed in the nomination of Hilary Clinton as the candidate for the presidency. Truth of the matter is I honestly believed that I would see a white woman president before I saw any non-white male in that office. But Hilary Clinton has never electrified me in the way Barack Obama has in speech, in action, and in politics. I have to point out that I have done the research into our President-elect’s politics and I like and agree with some but I disagree with others, but hey, you can’t win them all. But I do believe that overall, his politics will work for the greater good that I believe in.

I will repeat it, tonight I am overwhelmed with emotion. The kid and the babe were not in bed yet when the election was officially called in favor of Barack Obama. I saw what I did not think I would see in my lifetime. But I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to turn to my boys, look them in their eyes, and tell them that ANYTHING was possible for them. And I truly believe that. I never did before. I guess I never really believed that people in this country could or would look at my children and not see their slanted eyes, their dark hair, and the tint to their skin. But Barack Obama GETS THAT. He gets what I spoke about in this post. And to have a president that gets it is so important to me. That consciousness will take our diverse country far. To places we have never seen. I am excited. I am electrified. My sons, I write this because I want you to know and read the hope that I have for our country, for our family, for you.