November 5, 2008
brave new world (now with cupcakes!)
I stayed up late last night, to watch Barack Obama give his acceptance speech, because how could I go to bed? After the last couple of elections, it was good to have closure. Especially when the closure went the way I was hoping.
I’ve been getting teary all day, listening to NPR recaps of the election and predictions of what comes next. I hope having a Democrat in the White House doesn’t mean that I will spend four years crying, but at least these are tears of joy, unlike the weeping I’ve done in the past eight years.
Yesterday I read, over and over, accounts of parents my age, or parents of kids the ages of mine, who said that they wanted to impress on their children how historic this election was. And while I agree, I couldn’t help thinking that what makes it truly remarkable is not what came before but what comes next. My children will never remember a time when a black man couldn’t be president, just like they will never remember a time before 9/11.
I was a year old when the first men walked on the moon. For my parents, this was huge, that people went to the MOON and then CAME BACK — it was like Columbus sailing off toward the horizon and proving that the earth was ROUND you all and not FLAT! But I never really understood what the big deal was, because in my lifetime, space travel was always possible, was always a reality. That’s how my kids will feel about a black president; it will be something that is just part of the landscape for them.
So I have to do all the crying for all of us, because to them, it’s just an election, it’s not the beginning of a brave new world.
On a lighter note, I didn’t spend the entire day crying; I also did some writing, about really important things like the first time I cooked a turkey and the universe’s best cupcakes. Because today is a day for feasting, apparently.
Maybe a cupcake will make me stop crying.
Posted by Susan @ 5:20 pm • everyday life, other places
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November 5th, 2008 at 5:39 pm, sarah louise Says:
I didn’t even think about crying when I took a box of pink Kleenex as a poll worker yesterday. I’m at the start of a cold, so I figured it would be a good idea. At least two women wept as or before/after voting. Great analogy about space travel. As a white woman who lives right next to a largely African American neighborhood in Pittsburgh, I am thrilled that there is finally a reason to weep tears of hope and joy.
xo,
SL
November 5th, 2008 at 6:26 pm, heels Says:
I’ve been weepy all day too- partly in happiness, partly in frustration. I live in California, and while we helped elect the first African American President, we also TOOK AWAY rights from homosexual people. It’s very conflicting emotionally to have so much hope and so much anguish at the same time. On a day when we are celebrating how far America has come, my friends and family are hurting because they can’t choose their own spouses legally. My heart swells with hope and then deflates from the hatred each time I think about the election results.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:26 pm, Susie Says:
This is kinda scary… but please go to my blog and look at my post title and further down to the content. You say it better of course,… but I swear I posted mine this AM!! I SWEAR! FREAKING. ME. OUT.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:45 pm, Sue @ My Party of 6 Says:
“So I have to do all the crying for all of us, because to them, it’s just an election, it’s not the beginning of a brave new world.”
Now *I’m* crying. So well said.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:50 pm, Half Assed Kitchen Says:
Cupcakes ARE amazing instruments of healing.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:12 am, Shannon Says:
I hear you 100%. I feel the exact same way about and for my girls, ages 2 and 4. And I was very tearful yesterday and on election day as well–especially when I saw Obama’s name on the ballot. So momentous.
It is a brave new world! Rejoice and eat cupcakes! (I blogged about I rejoiced and wore a gigantic, bright, possibly crazy necklace yesterday. Because if you can’t take fashion risks on the day after a historic presidential election, when can you?)
November 6th, 2008 at 9:45 am, What it means « Jeez-o-petes Says:
[…] friend Susan, who has two small children, said something really though-provoking — her kids will grow up […]
November 6th, 2008 at 9:49 am, aimee Says:
Love it! I’ve been doing a lot of crying as well. I was working on Capitol Hill in 2000 and remember that all these cowboy hats suddenly appeared after the election. Not that I have anything about coyboy hats specifically but in that case…yuck! Now I just think that all these intellectional, passionate people will want to come to Washington to be part of the Obama Administration and that is awesome!
November 6th, 2008 at 12:35 pm, Jordan Says:
Yes, that’s a very good point: “My children will never remember a time when a black man couldn’t be president, just like they will never remember a time before 9/11.” I have impressed upon my older son how incredible it is, and he gets it, but it won’t really be part of his world view as he grows up and this makes me so proud of us as a nation, to be rising above such an ugly past.
But, the crying! It really gets in the way of my daily life!
November 6th, 2008 at 3:36 pm, kim Says:
I actually burst into tears when it was announced that Obama had won! I just couldn’t believe it actually happened and I voted for him! For the first time since I turned 18 and was able to vote, I was excited about the outcome of the election and am EXCITED about where we’re heading for the next 4 years. I can’t WAIT to see what happens.
Everyone will liken this to the Kennedys and for once, I think they’ll be right. It’s gonna be a great 4 years.