Election day

If you would have asked me 10 years ago would I be willing to get up at 5:30 to get ready for work, do my final candidate research and then go stand in line to vote my answer would have be no, more like hell no. Yet, I found myself up at 5:30 yesterday morning, standing in line at the neighborhood church watching the sun come up waiting to vote. I felt compelled to vote in this election more than I ever have and I have to say it was an incredible experience. It's not that I haven't voted in prior elections, but this one seemed special/different. By the time the polls opened at 7:00 there were about 200 people waiting to vote. Everyone was in a good mood, no one complained, one guy offered another a free cup of coffee, I even saw someone allow an elderly lady and her daughter access to the front of the line. After I voted, I couldn't wait to find out who the winners were going to be. Aside from popular the presidential and congress races, I was excited to find out if the Constitutional amendment and if the school referendums had passed. I have been trying to put into words how I felt last night after watching the election results and then I got this email from my friend Angie and once again I am in awe of her eloquent use of words. I asked her if I could post this email on my blog to document history, of course being the great friend that she is, she agreed. Here is the email she sent to a friend in Italy today:

I thought I’d shoot a quick note to my friend across the sea to paint the picture of what the election night was like in the US…. In a word, amazing. The pulse of the country was something that could be felt through the veins of nearly every American. Waiting, figuratively holding their breath in anticipation of what the next chapter would bring. Mostly with the understanding and realization that not only were we, the citizens of the United States, watching…. But the world was watching; Standing on the other side of the glass peering in like a fish tank and wondering what our next move would be. Would it be a woman Vice President for the first time in history, or would it be the very first African American to hold the highest position in office? Either way, it marked the end of the Bush era and the beginning of a long anticipated change. I can’t wait to see what the coming days, months, years bring in changing perceptions and repositioning the country: financially, politically & emotionally in the souls of people that have had a difficult time coming to terms with where their country was headed these past years. As I drove home last night the sky was dark, but streets were lit by houses with people gathering to witness the historic events… The contrast of the dark night and the lit houses I saw people glued to their TV sets. House, by house, by house…all watching history in the making.

I hope everyone enjoyed this historical election day as much as I did.