I have never been so excited to vote before in my entire life. I will be the first to admit that I have not voted in 8 years. It was so obvious from the get that Bush was going to win that i just did not feel like participating to only be let down. But this time around, I am looking forward to crying tears of joy when Obama is announced to be President-elect.
The first time I remember being involved in the voting process was when I was eight-years-old, and I went with my mother and grandmother to the polling place. Back then, Jesse Jackson was running, and it was clear that Black folks like him well enough, but that's not always enough. This time around, it took a biracial (who is for all intents a Black) man to unite people to the point that he has us all convinced that this is the change that we need. That we are the change that we need. That we can be involved in the election process and make a real difference. That means alot to someone like me. Someone who never thought I would never see this day be realized in my lifetime.
Today I voted for my Grandma and both my Grandpas who never likely imagined that this day would come so soon. Back in '84 my Grandma said that she would vote for Jesse but didn't think he would ever win. Now, twenty four years later, we not only voted for the first Black man to ever win the Democratic nomination for presidency, but we believe that he will win. And he will.
When the last of my grandparents died in a three month period two years ago, I felt like I was the walking dead. Numb emotionally, but maintaining just to maintain appearances. Not long after she died, I discovered I was pregnant with my son. It was meant for him to be here. It was in the cards that one person wold leave my life to have another one enter. I write all this to make the point that, while Obama's grandmother may have died yesterday and "gone home" as he put it, something else has been conceived. And that thing is the road that we will all be on come tomorrow when Obama is named our next president.
Thanks for indulging me.
I hope you voted, too, and that you feel as good as I do right now.
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