Grandparents

They don't live forever, do they? *sigh* About a year ago I sat down for an afternoon and wrote down things they remembered about their families. Who came here, where did they come from, who they married. It was very interesting, and I'm glad I took the time to do it.
My grandparents, on my mother's side, live near me, yet I don't see them much. Life gets in the way, and family disputes, too. Yesterday I went to see them, and I was struck by just how fragile they appear. My grandfather especially. He looms large in my mind, a big, strong military man with an easy smile and always a dollar to spare for ice cream. He and I comparing tattoos. He got his in Hawaii, by a rare (at the time)female artist. My grandmother... since she had a heart attack a few years ago she's lost a LOT of weight. She's so thin now, just as her own mother was. It was comforting to me just to sit and listen to her talk last night. That same voice that carried me through my childhood with her wisdom and love. She remained a constant for me. When my parents divorced, when my father died, she was there for me. When I was 15, she took me to Planned Parenthood herself because my mother couldn't face the fact that I'd become sexually active. When I went into labor with Daimean, SHE is the person I called.
I guess it comes down to this - I avoid them because I don't like to accept the fact that they're aging. If I keep them at arm's length, maybe I won't be so devastated when I lose them. Silly, I know. Time to make the effort to spend time with them now, while I still can.

The Last Post

Well, last POLITICAL post, anyway :P

Last night, as I waited anxiously for the election results to be tallied, state by state, I imagined a more secure future for my children.
As I waited, I imagined a country working to be strong from within, before attempting to flex that strength elsewhere.
A country that fights for equality. Opportunity. Innovation.
When it was over, I cried. I brushed back the hair of my sleeping child and I heaved a sigh of relief. I thought about Obama's speech in New Hampshire, that this is the moment when we start to heal this country, this earth. And I was reminded that no matter the outcome, we rise or fall as one.

I'm happy, proud, exhausted..... but mostly, THANKFUL. My fellow Americans stood up and we took our country back. We elected an intelligent, compassionate and unique man to lead us. Not because of his skin color, and not because of his family name - but because our hearts and minds could finally agree on one person.

And I know everyone one says race doesn't matter. But let me tell you what this means to us "minorities" - those of us who have to work twice as hard to show we're just as capable. Those of us who DON'T look like the preceding presidents. THIS means so much to me, that MY CHILDREN will grow up knowing what. is. possible.

Yes, We Did

That good cry I was talking about? I let it out today, first when the election was called for Obama, and again, when he spoke. Yes, we can. The fight was long and hard, but we did it. We stood up and made it happen. Today I laid it all on the line, after months and months of pushing for him. Today I didn't cautiously say, Yes, we might. I said, YES WE CAN. And we did.
But this is only the beginning. There is a lot of work to do. But I'm honored to be doing it under the guidance of President Obama.

Good night, I'll sleep well.

Today is the Day

Never in my life has an election captivated so many people. I've never seen so many Americans truly involved in the process, and understanding that our country's future is on the line. Our children. Our grandchildren. They're looking to us to stand behind our convictions, stand up for change, and make it happen. My candidate says that we rise or fall as one, and I agree. He says that we can begin to repair this world, and I believe him. This is our time, he says.

"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

So today, I will let all that hope run unchecked.

Obama to win, all or nothing.