Brand new day

I'm sure you've probably heard by now that we have a new president and, by God, it is great. Maybe better than I could have expected. Yes, it was exciting to have the candidate we were supporting win and the inauguration last week was pretty cool, too, but this first week of policy announcements has been deeply satisfying.

This may not come as a surprise to anyone who knew that our family was pretty invested in this presidential campaign. I don't like even making a call to order take out, but I mustered up enough guts to do some phone banking from the kitchen table and Aaron and I spent a few days doing "get out the vote" canvassing in nearby neighborhoods. Zeke got to go out with Aaron and Grandma Trish one day and I went out canvassing with parents of one of Zeke's classmates, a great way to make new friends. Then Aaron and I went out together knocking on doors -- some date! In general, the campaign was really filled with emotion for me. I was checking websites every few minutes and feeling moved to tears by the extreme displays of hatred one on side and then by the hope my friends and I shared over speeches and polls and promised policies. As an aside, I can truly say I didn't vote for someone based on race, but I can admit my heart rose looking at Obama family photos and identifying with that picture. Okay, my family is not nearly as diverse, but it has a couple of similarities in its multiethnic and multicultural make up that resonate for me as my family in its different doses Asian, black, white, Christian, Jewish. Example: Obama's sister is half Asian/half white. That sort of identification was really powerful for myself and my mixed friends.

I voted early. Experience now shows that we would have been better off voting on November 4, but I was as eager as everyone else I knew to make sure I avoided any Election Day problems and also Aaron and I committed to working at polls on that day. I brought Zeke with me to vote and snapped a few photos of him. When we first got there, the line was moving very quickly and very efficiently and we anticipated only an hour wait. However, it ended up taking over three hours as the voter verification system kept crashing. Lucky for me, Zeke and everyone else with me in that line, I had packed Zeke's backpack full with enough food, toys and books to occupy him and a dozen other toddlers. It wasn't until the last 15 minutes or so in line that he got antsy and I had to bring out the iPhone (Zeke likes to correct me and say "No, it's My Phone!") and let him play with it and stream YouTube videos of Peter Rabbit. Our new friends in line -- you get to know a person after 3 hours -- kept saying how amazed at how patient and well behaved Zeke was. They felt he was coping better with the wait than many of the voters lined up with us! Even though it is probably not how most parents should plan an outing with a toddler, it feels like a badge of honor that we did wait and that Zeke got to be there with me. A tad silly, but completely honest.

In October I started investigating going to the Inauguration and got on the waiting list of one of our state senators, as did a thousand other people. If I had requested the tickets in February, I might have been granted the tickets, because that is when people started requesting them from this senator. Instead we stayed in town and decided to brave the elements and meet up with friends downtown to watch on Jumbotrons in the park. It was fun to be there with 1,200 other people, but it was so cold that I lost feeling in my upper lip, the wind was whipping up dry grass, and the sound was cut at the poem and benediction. All in all we would have been able to view it better from our nice warm house, but it was great to celebrate with other people. Also, afterwards we stopped at Whole Foods for groceries and some soup for lunch. It was great: it was absolutely a ghost town, the least crowded I have ever seen. Guess all the arugula eating, latte sipping liberals were busy doing something else that day. I am hoping we can make plans to be in DC for 2013!

I'm fine if Zeke grows up to have different political views from his father and me. And, even with taking him out for canvassing one day, I did my best to keep him free of any pins or shirts. (I saved all the merchandising for me with my "ObamaMama" shirt and "Mama loves Obama" totebag.) Still, this kid can really get down to will.i.am's "It's a New Day" and seems to relish saying "Barack O'Mama." We will be enjoying all of this for some time to come.


Here is the note that I wrote myself on Election Day:

I was about five or six when I developed an awareness of the American presidency. The first president I remember was Ronald Reagan. The first president that my child will remember? President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama.

That brings tears to my eyes.

Of course I've been crying a lot recently. I make no bones about being an unabashed liberal. I've already told you that I am an Obama Mama (my shirt finally arrived!). I have spent the past few days with friends and family knocking on doors, calling, talking to people and waving signs for Obama. I don't shed tears, however, because I am a liberal and happy to be on the winning team. It is out of tremendous pride of being an American and having renewed reason to believe in the promise and future of America.