History Was Made.

Last night I sat on the couch with my mother and daughter and we watched history being made. I had a color me in electoral map and my daughter and I took turns coloring the results in. Although Obama was ahead in the beginning and a favorite of our family, somehow a small part of me just still couldn't believe that he would really win. After all when my parents married in the 1960's it was illegal for them to do so in some states. I was concerned that this country hadn't come far enough and that Race would be a huge issue instead of what was really important - the content of Obama's character.

When the count all the sudden jumped to 297, we sat in stunned silence. We won so quickly it was hard to wrap our heads around the fact. We immediately called my brother in another state to get his reaction. we never thought this day would come in my lifetime we both agreed.

As we watched President Elect Barack Obama's speech I looked over and saw tears on my mother's face. Afterward she said the two greatest moments in her life were meeting Martin Luther King Jr. when she was in college and seeing Barack Obama elected President of the United States. She so vividly remembers the March on Washington and the speech King made in front of the Lincoln Memorial. She had just finished college and so desperately wanted to go to Washington, but her parents felt it wouldn't be safe and were concerned for her safety. So she had to watch it on t.v. Her greatest regret has always been not going anyway.

My mother is a 67 year old white woman from Connecticut who married a man she loved who just happened to be black and she helped elect America's first Black President. I'm filled with joy that my mother was able to experience this, but I wish my dad had lived to see this day too.