I am thankful for many things this Thanksgiving. Here's a smattering, in no particular order:
I am thankful that I only got up four times during the night last night, which counts as a good night's rest these days.
I am thankful for my sister, Jane.
I am thankful for my sister, Rachael, and for the fact that she is currently napping at my house, rather than at hers in Austin.
I am thankful that Henry's baby brother will be arriving in ten weeks.
I am thankful for Henry -- for the way he asks politely, "How do you know?" after his father and I assert anything, for the way he sings Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, for how he is blossoming at his new school, for the way he calls to me when he is taking his bath and asks me to come in because "I'm lonely...."
I am thankful for our friends and neighbors and this lovely neighborhood where I can hear the horns of the ships on the river from my living room.
I am thankful that I have not had a severe headache in almost five days.
I am thankful for Matthew.
I am thankful that I have a job.
I am thankful that I have a mortgage I can afford.
I am thankful that it has been warmer and humid here for the past two days, something my nasal passages greatly appreciate.
I am thankful for the lovely day we spent at the racetrack yesterday, and the turkey dinners we enjoyed the night before and in the evening.
I am thankful for Barack Obama.
I am thankful for my mother's cranberry sauce, which tastes exactly the way my grandmother, Aiti, always made it.
I am thankful for online shopping so I don't have to spend the seventh month of my pregnancy in traffic and long lines.
I am thankful for Drew Brees.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
An Open Letter to Henry on the Election of Barack Obama
My sweet, wonderful little boy: I am writing this so that someday you will understand why yesterday was so important to your father and me. Sometimes I worry that we are unwittingly creating a little Alex Keaton by watching the evening news with you every night over dinner and talking endlessly about Democratic politics (I know you have no idea who Alex Keaton is, but just ask me whenever you read this -- it will give me an opportunity to lecture you about how lucky you are compared to when I was a child, when Family Ties was one of only two shows my parents would let me watch on prime time TV, which is my version of when-I-was-a-kid-I-walked-to-school-three-miles-each-day-uphill-each-way).
Whatever seeds of future political rebellion we may be sowing, there is no doubt that right now you seem almost as interested in the election as we are. Your commentary over the past 18 months has included asking whether John McCain is a fast runner, and cautioning that Obama will win because his symbol is a donkey, unless of course John McCain's elephant has a really strong trunk. You pressed the button when I voted in the Democratic primary, and yesterday you pressed the button with Daddy in the national election. The results were coming in too late last night for us to let you stay up and watch, but you only went to bed on the condition that we would tell you if Barack Obama won. Daddy dutifully went into your room at 10:30 p.m. last night to tell you the happy news, but you were gone pecan (I sincerely hope your deep sleep tendencies will stand you in good stead when the baby comes home). So I left you a note on your clock that read, "Henry, Barack Obama won! Love, Mommy."
There are a lot of reasons your Daddy and I are happy about Barack Obama winning. The past eight years under George Bush and Dick Cheney have done great damage to our country. My initial disappointment and distrust of the Bush administration turned to dread and anger when you were born and I realized that they could be saddling you (and soon, your little brother) with tremendous national debt and an increasingly hostile world. When Barack Obama appeared on the national scene four years ago, I felt a glimmer of hope that perhaps the damage would not be permanent. When he announced his candidacy almost two years ago, your father and I had eyes for no one else. We believe that the policies he will implement (with the assistance of the now firmly Democratic Congress) will improve the odds that you and your brother will grow up to live in a safer world, with less of a financial burden to bear, and with more opportunities for jobs and education. We are not naive enough to think any of this will happen overnight -- indeed, we fear the backlash should President Obama not be able to deliver change as quickly as the country wants it -- but we are convinced that over time this country will be better for his leadership.
We are also thrilled and fascinated by the fact that you and your brother will grow up thinking that having a black man as President is perfectly normal. What a different reality that will be for you than the one we had growing up. Again, we hardly expect that his election will bridge all the divides that still separate whites and blacks in this country -- the legacy of slavery will never go away, it is a part of our nation's scarred history. But perhaps the sins of the past will no longer be the burden they once were -- perhaps blacks and whites will trust each other more, be slower to jump to conclusions about racial motivations, and be less likely to resent each other for perceived imbalances in opportunity. I don't know -- but I have hope.
And that hope makes me so proud to be an American. Some people misunderstand the sentiment many Americans have felt over the past eight years -- there is no question that many of us were ashamed of our country's leadership and the decisions that were being made on our behalf. When the world equates Americans with those leaders and policies, the shorthand expressions for our feelings might sometimes have sent the message that we weren't proud of our country or proud to be Americans. But that wasn't right at all - I never stopped being proud of my country, never stopped crying when I sang the national anthem, never doubted the bravery and heroism of our soldiers, never doubted the essential strength and charity of the American people. I just wanted my country's leaders and actions to fit the pride that I felt. Because of last night -- because so many people of so many different colors, income groups, and backgrounds, pushed the same button that you did to elect Barack Obama our next President, I have hope that by the time you are old enough to read and understand this, you'll feel the same pride.
Love,
Mommy
Whatever seeds of future political rebellion we may be sowing, there is no doubt that right now you seem almost as interested in the election as we are. Your commentary over the past 18 months has included asking whether John McCain is a fast runner, and cautioning that Obama will win because his symbol is a donkey, unless of course John McCain's elephant has a really strong trunk. You pressed the button when I voted in the Democratic primary, and yesterday you pressed the button with Daddy in the national election. The results were coming in too late last night for us to let you stay up and watch, but you only went to bed on the condition that we would tell you if Barack Obama won. Daddy dutifully went into your room at 10:30 p.m. last night to tell you the happy news, but you were gone pecan (I sincerely hope your deep sleep tendencies will stand you in good stead when the baby comes home). So I left you a note on your clock that read, "Henry, Barack Obama won! Love, Mommy."
There are a lot of reasons your Daddy and I are happy about Barack Obama winning. The past eight years under George Bush and Dick Cheney have done great damage to our country. My initial disappointment and distrust of the Bush administration turned to dread and anger when you were born and I realized that they could be saddling you (and soon, your little brother) with tremendous national debt and an increasingly hostile world. When Barack Obama appeared on the national scene four years ago, I felt a glimmer of hope that perhaps the damage would not be permanent. When he announced his candidacy almost two years ago, your father and I had eyes for no one else. We believe that the policies he will implement (with the assistance of the now firmly Democratic Congress) will improve the odds that you and your brother will grow up to live in a safer world, with less of a financial burden to bear, and with more opportunities for jobs and education. We are not naive enough to think any of this will happen overnight -- indeed, we fear the backlash should President Obama not be able to deliver change as quickly as the country wants it -- but we are convinced that over time this country will be better for his leadership.
We are also thrilled and fascinated by the fact that you and your brother will grow up thinking that having a black man as President is perfectly normal. What a different reality that will be for you than the one we had growing up. Again, we hardly expect that his election will bridge all the divides that still separate whites and blacks in this country -- the legacy of slavery will never go away, it is a part of our nation's scarred history. But perhaps the sins of the past will no longer be the burden they once were -- perhaps blacks and whites will trust each other more, be slower to jump to conclusions about racial motivations, and be less likely to resent each other for perceived imbalances in opportunity. I don't know -- but I have hope.
And that hope makes me so proud to be an American. Some people misunderstand the sentiment many Americans have felt over the past eight years -- there is no question that many of us were ashamed of our country's leadership and the decisions that were being made on our behalf. When the world equates Americans with those leaders and policies, the shorthand expressions for our feelings might sometimes have sent the message that we weren't proud of our country or proud to be Americans. But that wasn't right at all - I never stopped being proud of my country, never stopped crying when I sang the national anthem, never doubted the bravery and heroism of our soldiers, never doubted the essential strength and charity of the American people. I just wanted my country's leaders and actions to fit the pride that I felt. Because of last night -- because so many people of so many different colors, income groups, and backgrounds, pushed the same button that you did to elect Barack Obama our next President, I have hope that by the time you are old enough to read and understand this, you'll feel the same pride.
Love,
Mommy
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