artyartie

A very late postscript to an absolutely incredible, indescribable day - my sister and I went out after voting and I found myself unconsciously crossing my fingers the entire time, wanting to glimpse a TV if only to see the first results come in. So coming home to news of victory in PA was cause for a cautious though entirely celebratory yelp - after Obama took Ohio I put a bottle of wine in the fridge to chill. Sadly, our news station cut to local results the moment Obama won - it cut back to the graphic with those vital words, "elected 44th President of the United States," and my mom and I gave each other bewildered smiles, folowed by whoops and cheers and hugs and more than a few tears. We watched McCain's concession (so very, very gracious - one of the best speeches of his campaign), and watched Obama's speech with that wine (saved for a happy occasion, and I can think of no finer) and a few more sniffles.

It's still hard to process - and with news on Prop 8 still out, my happiness really can't be totally, utterly complete - but watching history be made tonight, seeing the glimmer of hope in this darkness that's ours to grasp and to kindle and nourish, has made me so incredibly proud. Did we win this election? Yes, we did. Can we funnel that energy and spirit into the work of citizenship? Yes, we absolutely can.