Don't Stop Believing

My alarm went off yesterday, but I didn't need the annoying beep that I dread daily. I quickly got dressed and left my apartment. I was a woman on a mission. I drove to Coe Elem. which is right behind the old QA apartment. I had my voters registration card in my purse. Ready. In front of me I hear 610 1/2 W. McGraw... its tweet tweet. I say hi. She says come sit next to me. I get my official ballot. I start to fill it. I've never done this before. I have a confession. It's actually my first time voting ever. In the past, I thought, oh we'll win, or neglected to register. This year was different. I wanted to caucus. And now, the day is here. I actually started to put X's through the circles, no I needed to fill them in completely (Thanks Robyn). I was done. Pretty easy. Exhilerating. The Rush of knowing I had the power to make a change. Pretty cool. Proudly wearing my "I voted" sticker we had coffee- she filled me in on the gossip of the new neighbors.

I headed to work. Hopeful, neverous my emotions were stronger than expected. I already planned to go to Babeland for my free silver bullett at lunch. I tasked Kyle to watch the election results. Hour by hour my attention span faded, wanting to grab my champagne from the fridge and head to the Westin. 5pm hit, I was ready. Checked Cnn- McCain 8, Obama 3. It's early. I meet Deb for some drinks, we are gaining ground, I can already feel the momentum gaining. Obama gaining more and more electoral votes. I think he's going to do this. Happiness exuding from my pores. We get on the SLUT (just realized it was my first SLUT ride) to the Westin. Head to Jaxon's suite. Everyone is there. And the night went from there, we celebrated. We laughed. Victory was close. Finally it was time to head to the main ballroom. The room was packed. I had grabbed a celebratory glass of champagne just in case. We pick a spot. Rick Steves spotted in front of us... hot damn! And then its announced. Ohio. The election is ours. We did it. I scream, feeling happier than I've ever felt before. Fists in the air, yelling our motto "YES WE CAN." Our hell of the last 8 years is over. We made history- the first African American president. Obama is the man. Wow... I'm speachless. The energy and emotion in the room is indescribable. We make phone calls, texts start coming through, oh my god... its really happening.

We return to the suite to watch his acceptance speach at Grant Park. Crazy. I'm on the 39th floor of the Westin hotel celebrating with some of the most incredible people I know. I'm over-joyed. Adrenaline rush through my veins. It's happened. McCain surrenders. No more worries of Prez. Palin- which now has come out that the Mavericks barely spoke to each other. Not sure what he was thinking, but for sure a recipe for failure. We continue to party. I make some blue drink that is pure alcohol. I'm golden for the rest of the night. We party like rock stars. I accost Rick Steves. We visit several parties. My first spiritual political experience was the March for Women's Lives in 2004, this was a million times better. My country just voted for a political leader I believe in, not just anyone, the man that gives me chills and makes my heart tingle. He believes in equality. He supports choice. His wife is awesome. And most of all, he believes in the power of his country not in the scary way of Bush, rather our power to change, celebrate our freedom. I finally leave the Westin at 3am. The lastest I've stayed out in a long time. Still a bit drunk with my bottle of CMS red I stole from Gregoire's party- oh yeah, we ended up in one of her parties.

Wednesday was the morning after. Just like the first time you have really hot sex with someone, the glow remains and you are on top of the world. We had come together as a country. My hangover loomed, it was going to be a rough day, but 100% worth it. A friend recently compared Nov. 5 to post 9-11, but the opposite. Stories of people hugging each other in the streets, yelling yes we can. A friend told me about people on his bus celebrating. Rosa Parks would be proud. Last I watched videos, read blogs, our nation rejoiced. Neighbors in Capitol Hill played Don't Stop Believing. The song, the crowd pretty much sums up how I felt.

We have a long ways to go. Prop 8 still looms. Schools to fix. States that voted against gay couples adopting. States that continue to pass anti-choice measures. However, we have a President elect who supports gay marriage (civil unions), pro-choice measures, comprehensive sex education, preserving our planet, and tax cuts for the average working american. I plan to go to church this Sunday, to give thanks for bring change and hope to our nation.