I've Unpacked My Bags

My sincere apologies go out to Mr. Lady, Huckdoll, Anna-Banana and any other Canadian friends I have out there; it looks like we are not going to be neighbors after all. I have unpacked my bags, so to speak, and decided that I don't need to become an American Expatriate anymore. So, sorry ladies, it would have been fun (and April was going to come with me, so you should be doubly disappointed), but I think I am just going to stay right where I am at and be part of the changes that are inevitably going to take place in our country.

Special thanks go out to April, by the way. She knows I don't do TV, so was more than willing to call and give me updates as the votes began to be counted. I have NPR in the car, so I listened to some coverage there, and found an AM station in the house that was providing non-stop coverage, so between April and the radio, I was well-informed. I can't begin to tell you how exciting it was to be sharing that experience with one of my favorite people in the world, even via phone. To be able to talk to her right after the election was called was just an added bonus to an already fucking great night. I love you, April!

I was disgusted yet not surprised that Idaho went red; we had three Blue counties, which is two more than we usually do, but McCain still got all four of our electoral votes-sickening. It was really neat last night to get down to the precinct, though, and see all of the young people there voting. I would be willing to place a wager that this was definitely the highest turnout our county has ever seen, which of course follows the national trend. It was really encouraging to see how many people were there to have their say, regardless of how they voted. I took Hannah and Sam with me, and I was almost a little disappointed in how efficient our polling workers were. I was almost hoping to have to stand in line for a little while, for there to be more hustle and bustle and excitement, because both of them were all like, "That's it? You're done?" It seemed a little anti-climactic for both of them. Still, Sam was interested enough to want to be woken up when the winner was announced, and Hannah and Eli were both still up at the end-very cool.

After the election results were in, after I basked in the glory for a short while, I called another friend and left a voice mail about how "our guy" won; she called back, and we ended up talking until after midnight, which was really good. She is the one who has been having some problems in her marriage, and events occurred over the weekend that have made the end both inevitable and necessary. My heart just breaks for her on a thousand different levels, and I don't know what to say or do to help her other than to just listen. As the result of events, she has a shitload of problems that are going to have to be dealt with one small step at a time, and that is hard enough without having to even go into the sadness and feelings of betrayal she will have to deal with later. Keep her in your thoughts, all of you, ans she starts out in the direction her life is taking right now. She needs thoughts and prayers for strength and peace, and also for her fighting spirit to sustain her through this. I will say that even in the midst of the turmoil and pain in her life, she was telling me that while she was driving home from an appointment last night, she listened to Obama's speech, and it was as if his words were directed specifically toward her, and applied to everything in her life at that moment; what greater tribute to our President Elect than to have that kind of experience?

My mind is reeling today, so any attempt I make to articulate the thoughts and feelings running through my mind would be futile, and better left untried. I will leave you with this quote from Obama, though, and know in my heart that he is what we need to begin to become a country united once again:

"This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance to make that change"