I’ve noticed something this week.  Moreso than I noticed in the week or so after the election.  I’ve noticed a LOT of whining. 

Not from the Democrats.  Not from the people that got hung up at the gates trying to get to the Mall to see the inauguration.   Not even from most of the media (and yes, I’m including some conservative media in this).  But from Republicans.  And not just any Republicans.  But the ones who chuckled at the Democrats who were depressed after the election in 2004 and even 2000.  I remember vividly hearing Republicans say, “Stop whining!” when Bush was re-elected over Kerry.  I recall Republicans teling Democrats to just get used to the fact that Bush was the President instead of Gore in 2000.  ”It’s better for the country” was the common refrain back then.  All this complaining and doomsaying would be bad for our nation.  It was divisive. 

So… I have to wonder… why are these SAME Republicans whining, wailing, doomsaying and gnashing their teeth now?  Is it somehow better in their opinion to complain about an elected leader (and dare I say, a leader elected by a far larger margin of victory) when it’s not someone of their own political party?  Becaues that is exactly how it looks.  It makes them look like hypocrites.  It  makes them look petty.  And small.  And worst of all, small-minded.  

I want to beleive the best of people.  I really, really do.  But I have had it up to here with the double talk.  The old “it’s okay for me and mine to do it but if you dare to try it then you’re toast.”   And I probably wouldn’t care but people who have thought and believed as I do have been called all the names in the book for the last eight years.  We have been called unpatriotic.   Simply because we questioned our President’s decisions.  Simply because we don’t like the guy.  ”We’re at war!  You need to support our President during a war!”  (I could say it’s just as important to support the President during a financial crisis too.)  (And not to mention that we’re still at war.)

You know what?  No, you don’t.  I’m not saying we could/should/etc march on Washington D.C and stage a coup.  I’m saying that in the privacy of our homes, among friends/coworkers/people on the street and on our blogs, we should be able to question our government without a group of small-minded individuals questioning our love for our country.  

So yes.  These whiners, these Republicans who are so very bitter about the new President, are allowed to bitch, moan, whine, complain and doomsay.  I’ll defend to the death their right to do so.  But I don’t ever want to hear those same people tell me I cannot do the same.  Never again.

I couldn’t think of a title that was important enough to express how I feel about today.  So you get a cliche.  I’m sorry.

Long before I thought it was possible that Obama would be our president, I looked forward to this day.  I’d say I’ve been looking forward to this ever since that gray and rainy and cold and miserable Wednesday in early November back in 2004  when I learned Bush had four more years in the White House.  I’m really sorry if any of my readers like him or voted for him or any of that but DEAR LORD.  I’ve never particularly liked him.  And over the years, that feeling has soured even further.  In the last year, I’ve felt more and more desperate to see him leave office.  The state of this nation has deteriorated so rapidly and so throughoughly that even I am shocked at how completely this country has gone down the crapper in the last eight years.

All that aside, today is not just about seeing Bush leave office, but it’s more about seeing Obama take office.  This is historical.  This is HUGE.

Words are failing me.

I’m just proud of my country.  And I’m inspired.  And I’m excited.

I’m going to be watching a lot of television today.  I want to be able to tell my kids when they’re older about this.  I want to be able to tell my grandkids.

I don’t know what else to say.  Happy Inauguration Day, everyone.

It doesn’t seem fair that it should be Friday already.  I feel like I haven’t “worked for it” enough or somesuch silliness.  Considering our week didn’t start until Wednesday, it has definitely been a rather cushy week.  And everyone has gotten back on track rather quickly after our trip to Elko.  I remember when Harry was little it always took a few days to get him back to sleeping normally again and he would be kind of a snot for a few days.  But Liam has been pretty good (as good as you can expect him to be, rather) and Evie has been fine as well.  So YAY for that!  

And YAY for Friday!  We don’t have anything major on the books this weekend (don’t think we could afford it if we wanted to anyhow), maybe a trip to the store or two.  I know.  Aren’t you just thrilled?  I can barely contain my own excitement.  But weekends aren’t about excitement.  They’re about chilling the heck out.  And if you know me, you know I love to chill the heck out.  

Wait.  Before I get ahead of myself, I’d better start in on my List of Fabulous.  

• I think we’re going to do another “date night” tonight.  Kile has a salmon roast in the freezer, stuffed with shrimp if I recall and I can barely wait to try it.  Hmm.  Should probably confirm with him and set it in the fridge to defrost, huh?  We also have a little bottle of Icewine to drink.  I’ll have to think up some other fun date night stuff too.  
• While we’re settling further into cooler weather (which I love, if you weren’t already aware), we’re seeing some downright mild temperatures this week.  It’s nice to have a last little respite of warmth before things cool down for the duration.  Of course, if the temperatures don’t go back to normal soon, I may start griping.  In the meantime, however, I’m going to enjoy not having to wear a coat all the time. 
• “The Office” and “30 Rock” were especially good last night.  I mean, they’re pretty much ALWAYS good.  It’s nice to have that to count on on a Thursday night, isn’t it?  
• Have you see the Oprah/Snapfish free photo book offer going around?  I don’t have the link handy and I’m far too lazy to go look it up (I got it off Baby Cheapskate and Freebies 4 Moms had it too), but i put one together yesterday and it turned out so cool.  It’s a $30 book for FREE, you just pay shipping.  Now tell me that’s not FABULOUS!
• Obama is going to be our next President!  I know this is old news.  But I am still rather excited about it and so therefore, it’s making my list.  
• I can theoretically sleep in tomorrow.  Even if it ends up being a pipe dream, just the dream of being able to sleep in makes my toes want to curl.  Woot! 

I know we’re all sick to death about the election.  Even those of us whose guy won last night.  Maybe ESPECIALLY those of us whose guy won last night (wasn’t yesterday completely nerve-wracking??).  I am so completely glad that I can watch television without fear of seeing ANOTHER election ad.  No more will I open my mailbox to be bombarded with postcards and mailers promoting or bashing a candidate.  That’s just awesome right there.

But before let this historic (and make no mistake, this election was completely and utterly historic) election fade into history and get on with important topics such as “When Will Evie Sleep In Her Crib?” and “Liam Is Single-Handedly Threatening My Sanity” and “When Will I Be Able To Take Thyroid Meds Again?”, I have a few last things to say about it all.

There are a lot of posts out there today about the election and the results last night.  Most of them, so far, are effusive in their joy and hope.  But there are some that are less so and these are by the people who were not Obama supporters.  One refrain I’ve heard a lot of in the last 12 hours is, “I’m just so worried about the future of our country right now!  What have we done?”  To that I say: “Now you know how I’ve felt the last 8 years.”  I have very, very little sympathy for the people who are wringing their hands and furrowing their brows this morning.  Because they had very, very little sympathy for me when Bush won both elections.  That may be small and petty of me, but it’s the truth.

I’ve spent 8 years being worried (and I think history has shown that I had a right to feel worried) about our country.  And now I see HOPE on the horizon.  So I’m going to embrace that hope.  Feel free to revel in your cynacism, your doubt, your discouragement… Nothing I can say will help you feel better anyhow, I imagine.  But think for a minute that if you just let go of that worry that maybe it would be easier to move forward.  I had to do that with both elections.  You could say I’m well practiced at it.

And don’t get me wrong.  I don’t think Obama has all the answers.  He is just ONE man.  And the problems facing our country are HUGE right now.  Surely, he’ll make mistakes.  And I fully expect to call him out on those mistakes.  ALL presidents make mistakes.  (Just turns out, some make more than others.)  (*cough*BUSH*cough*)  He’s not PERFECT.  But I do believe he has the ability to help us move forward.  I believe in him and I believe in our country.  THAT is what this election was about and THAT is why I voted for Obama.

The work is just starting.  And for the first time in a LONG time, I feel like we can do it.  We have a chance.  And just for today, I want to feel happy about the status of the world out there.  Don’t rain on my parade, mmkay?  I’ve waited a long time for this.

Eight years ago, things were very different for me and my family, as I imagine they were different for you and yours.  We were living in an apartment complex over in the northwest part of town (a part of town I often wish we still lived in, though not in the apartment, thankyouverymuch).  We had actually moved to our third and final apartment in that complex just days before (in fact, if I recall correctly, we hadn’t finished the moving process entirely just yet), and it was a lot larger and nicer than our previous apartment.  Harry’s first birthday was rapidly approaching and we were planning a big bash with lots of out-of-town family to take place that weekend at the clubhouse.  I was working at the apartment complex, actually, leasing out apartments.

I didn’t work on Tuesdays since they and Mondays were “weekends” for me.  So I had Harry at home with me when I went to vote at a nearby elementary school.  I remember him in his stroller as I pushed him over to the booth, my sample ballot in hand.  It was a rainy, grey day and I didn’t doubt for an instant that Al Gore would be our next president.  I was probably (probably?) a little naive.  There wasn’t anything to it.  No way would people want BUSH to be president.  Pfft.  Yeah.  I was DEFINITELY naive.

I grew up in California, after all.  My blood just defaults to Democrat.  And while not everyone I knew growing up were Democrats, liberalism was just a way of life in California.  Particularly social liberalism.  So I was surrounded by this way of viewing the world from a very young age and as I’ve grown up, I’ve often been surprised that not everyone thinks this way.  Remember what I said about naive?

Waking up on the day after election day in 2004 was a harsh reminder.  I couldn’t believe that the election was still so close.  Still, I expected Gore would triumph in the end.  When he didn’t… well… I had a hard time understanding how that was even possible.  But, Bush was our president and he probably couldn’t screw up the country THAT bad, right?

SNORT.

We all know the rest of that story, don’t we?  With our economic system in shambles, our troops mired in a war that we shouldn’t have had to fight in the first place and the disease of fear running rampant like it never has before, I think it’s safe to say that Bush did in fact screw up our country.

Let’s not make that same mistake again, okay America?  Please?

I know the lines may be long today, and there might be some last minute tactics to stall, influence or just flat our steal your vote, but you have to VOTE.  Get out there and do it for your country.  Because I still have faith in our country to heal itself.  After all, isn’t it when we’re down that we show the depths of our strength?

I don’t know if I can stand the waiting today.  Tonight, Kile and I plan to put away our laptops and cell phones and turn on a mindless movie of some sort.  Anything to keep us distracted.  Then, about midnight, we’ll dare to turn on the news.  And see if we have a leader.  And hopefully, it’ll be the guy we voted for.  We have plenty of alcohol, either way.  We’ll either be celebrating or mourning.  But there WILL be booze.

Now that’s looking on the bright side!