These two

Watching these two cry is making me cry all over again!

For Sure

There are some things I know for sure.

Barak Obama is not jesus. And I don't need him to be.

The "everything has changed" is not poised on anything that he may/not do next: policy decisions, leadership of his administration, whatever. I did not have faith in the people of this country to stand with a man of color, someone who refuses to give up nuance and complexity when talking about the world, someone who ran on more than bumperstickers. I did not have any faith or hope in the people of this country.

And, again, I do not feel magically like people everywhere have now demonstrated that they have risen above our collective legacies of racism.

But (and I know this sounds strange) I do feel, for the first time, like I have some sort of citizenship. And hope. It is a fragile sort of feeling.

But it is truly not about Barak Obama needing to be Jesus--he is not. He is and will be thoroughly human.

A few other things I know for sure:

Morning snuggles are fabulous. The girl joined me in bed about 4. . . The bean had already woken me up for our spring training at 3:30. Scully is in Tulsa. So Khubz walked up the little step ladder and burrowed in for a cuddle. Heaven.

I really, really can't slack on my to-do list. I did mop yesterday. . . sort of. Maybe "spot-cleaning" is a more apt phrase.

I am not worrying about Christmas cards this year. Because COME ON.

and then the world changed FOR REAL!!!!!

I am stunned. Completely stunned.

Scully and I sat there last night sobbing on the couch.

People in this country are celebrating this bi-cultural/multi-ethnic/international/american Black man. People are celebrating him for his leadership, his vision and for what his identity means to us.

This does change things.

It does not magically fix anything

But it changes the world that my daughter will move through.

It makes things possible for her that I did not believe would be.

It really does change everything.

and then the world changed

Just got this from my good friend. She keeps me hopeful even in spite of Bush's second term.

Keep the Faith, my Friends! Today will be a remarkable day for America and the world.

"Obama's roots, his past and his multiple cultural identities stand in stark contrast to the profiles of George W Bush or John McCain. His understanding of, and relations with, the countries of the world--particularly of the global South--and with American society itself point to a different outcome. Taken together, his life and experience make hope for a new understanding of domestic and international issues possible.

On the most fundamental level, Colin Powell has laid out the terms of reference: Barack Obama is not a Muslim; he is black and Christian. But, in the final analysis, what if he were a Muslim? What is wrong with being ''African-American'' or ''Muslim'' in today's America? While it now appears that the US can live with the election of a black American, indications are that a new, virulent anti-Muslim racism has arisen in the wake of the events of September 2001.

Given such fears, and the hardening of religious and ethnic divisions, Obama's past and origins should make it possible for him to emerge as ''everybody's president.'' In rejecting manufactured divisions, cultural biases and the ''religionisation'' of social issues, Obama could well become the symbol of a new United States simply by wielding his stature as president to promote domestic policies that favour justice and equality, empowering citizens of all origins. The first black president's greatest achievement would be to cause people to forget his colour." Tariq Ramadan The International News

Artist Shepard Fairey created the picture.

We Did It!

We voted today!

This really is the most excited I've ever been about a national election. We all went together this morning because we wanted to be in the thick of it. We never go to rock concerts or wait for hours to get basketball tickets. This was our day to wait in a throng of people full of anticipation, crushed together like all the leaves on the ground.

It was awesome.

We got there right as the polls opened and waited in line about 15ish minutes. There were lots of kids there--all excitedly instructing their mothers to remember that its OBAMA they want. One 7 year old girl had her Mom's cell phone and was going through calling various family members to remind them, "Grandpa, don't forget today. Who are you voting for? That's right: OBAMA."

Scully took Khubz in first and then handed her off to me. We stepped behind the curtain and the girl asks, "Hiding?" Well, sort of. The lovely poll worker gave Khubz a sticker in exchange for his pen back. We were dropping her off at daycare at 7:30--not bad at all!

We have lots of people to thank: not the least of whom is Hubs 'o Dawn and the whole Pair Clan. Missed family time, stress & long hours are a very high price to pay--so thank your county clerk AND remember to thank their family's as well!

And, yes, there is bullshit in too many places.

But that is a reminder of the many, many women and men who have been fighting these battles for a long time. It is not all long & far away. These are clearly contemporary battles. But we also have a legacy of liberation movements. I vote in gratitude for those movements. Even when the voting options suck--even though both major parties agree there should be an endless, unified american blow job for israel--to not vote at all is a slap in the face to my father who cannot vote, to the men & women who died so that I could participate in this process. And frankly, given how the u.s. has been terrorizing the rest of the world in the last 8 years--to not vote is a betrayal to all of humanity.

So yes, challenge election irregularities, agitate for third party participation in debates, protest and take political action way beyond voting. . . But for fuck's sake. VOTE ALREADY.

Remember, all the hatemongers will come out to vote. Don't let them outnumber us!

She did it!

Scully passed her orals!!!!

She is officially ABD (all but dissertation!)

10 Week Countdown

Scully and I got to hear the Bean's heartbeat yesterday. Everything is looking good, hamdillah, and we've got 10 weeks left to go.

I've already got $20 bucks riding on Jan. 7th, though, instead of the 14th.

But one way or the other we've got about 10 weeks to go. This demands some list making.

Goal for week 30 (next week)

• Clean my hole of an office. And for anyone I work with: I will not appreciate the humor in any cynical "when hell freezes over" comments
• Get my hair cut. Trimmed at least.
• Polish the kitchen cabinets. It is a small kitchen and I always complain that there's not enough cabinet space so this should be a snap!

Goal for week 31

• Back up the photos from our computer onto a flash drive.
• Clean out the door of the fridge. The fridge will be a more complicated cleaning project than my office so we best divide this up over a couple weeks.
• Purchase a new top that I can breastfeed in and wear comfortably in front of my father.

Goal for week 32

• Reevaluate the logic of publicly listing tasks like this that I am most likely to never, ever complete.
• Connect with other women about the value of getting through the day over the value of a completed to-do list.
• Go downstairs to back up the photos and spend the whole time shopping online for (but never purchasing) a top I can breastfeed in.

Goal for week 33

• Clean out the fridge for godssake. Just clean it out!!
• Decide that is enough for the week

Goal for week 34

• Sort through infant/newborn clothes
• Decide that this is enough for the week

Goal for week 35

• Resist the urge to go back in the blog and delete this post.