Dancing in the End Zone

I had a long day yesterday. I got up for work at 4 am, which is always cruel and painful. I worked until about 4 pm, and then went home to vote and eat dinner. I turned on CNN, intending to stay up all night, or until the Democrats took the House. As it happened yesterday, I didn't have to stay up that late, by 11:30 EST, I felt pretty good about turning the volume down on the set, and falling asleep on the couch. I would wake up every couple hours, eat a couple of Halloween leftovers, (Nestle's Crunch, since I finished the Butterfingers a few days ago) and check on the three Senate races that were too close to call, even at 4 am this morning.

It was almost like Christmas at 8 am when I saw Claire McCaskill's lovely face on the big screen TV.

I can remember a few Christmas mornings when after all of the anticipation, the boxes under the trees yielded a sweater in the wrong size, or a pair of gloves, or even worse, a kitchen appliance. If I am comparing today to Christmas, it almost seems unreal, as if I not only got everything I wanted, but some things I only dreamed about and never expected. Because after we got the House, Rumsfeld resigned, and now we have the Senate! Tonight when I came home from work, I flipped on the news and heard Nancy Pelosi use the phrase "subpoena Power", and it was like Pumpkin Pie with a massive heap of whipped cream. It still seems like a dream to me.

The brightly wrapped box that I am so careful to unwrap is the one that holds our democracy, and the faith that we put in each of our fellow citizens, the belief and the trust that Americans will do the right thing, whether they are red or blue, gay or straight, black or white. The gift of our fellow Americans taking the steps that will set this country back on the path to greatness is the gift that I hoped for, but didn't expect.

I'm dancing in the end zone. Tomorrow we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Today we can all look each other in the eye and know that we have done the right thing and maybe the healing can begin.

Thank you, America.

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