Hope, indeed

Tuesday morning I cast my vote with my children alongside me. I wanted them to be present and have some memory of being at the polls on election day for this historic election.
Tuesday evening we went to friend's house for dinner and to watch election coverage, but S was very tired and little E was reaching meltdown. So we left just after 8pm.
G watched some of the coverage on tv once we were home, but I couldn't watch. Better for me to hope for the best and just go to bed. At 5 in the morning when G was leaving for work, he me told Obama had won.
Woooooohooooooo, I cheered from bed, and quickly fell back asleep.

At 7 I woke again, started getting S ready for school and flipped between news channels watching clips of Obama's acceptance speech with tears streaming down my face. Soon, the phone began to ring with friends and family calling, cheering and sounding much less stressed than they had in weeks.

Here are some of my favorite quotes following election day from the people I love:

"You know my back has been killing me for weeks. The stress of this election has really gotten to me. I got home from work late, watched the election results all by myself and saw that Obama won. In celebration, I smoked a bowl, did some yoga. All the tension in my back went away. All I needed was a good president for my body to feel better."

"For the first time in my adult life I am not wishing I lived in Canada instead of the US."

"Did you see the way Obama was on stage at his acceptance speech? He touched his wife, hugged his children like a real man. He wasn't stiff, it wasn't staged. God, that alone is refreshing."

"I've been crying tears of joy on and off all day."

"I feel a little more hopeful that slowly, some countries in the world will begin to like us again."

"My faith in my fellow Americans has definitely increased overnight."

"I bet Dad is pissed! Have you talked to him yet?"