OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!

I bet my friends are tired of me texting them all night! OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA!!

But I woke up this morning & rubbed my eyes to make sure I hadn't dreamt it all. I looked for the paper on the driveway & there it was in BIG BLACK LETTERS...OBAMA Racial Barrier Falls In Decisive Victory. Need I say more that November 4th 2008 will go down in history. And we were here & we witnessed this historic event. It's not a story told to us by grandparents, teachers, and history books. It is a real life event for us! My daughters were here & will be a part of this momentus time in history. Their first years of their life will be under the very first black president of the United States. I'm shocked and overwhelmed and it's even difficult to find the words. But I have a renewed sense of hope and inspiration for the future of this country. As a parent I am relieved, there's hope for a bright future that my girls can look forward to. I wonder if they will ever know just HOW BIG this is? I wonder if they will ever know what a phenomenal moment in history this is? I wonder if they will appreciate that in 2008 the year they were born America CHANGED forever. This country would never be the same again. I wonder if they realize that this was never expected in OUR lifetime.

To my daughters Catalina and Valentina: November 4th 2008, you were 5 months old. Your dad & I took the day off because something in our hearts told us that today would be an extra special day. We didn't know it that day when we woke up but by the time we went to bed we found ourselves unable to fall asleep from all of the excitement. The events of that day will never be forgotten. It was a day of many firsts. We took you both to our voting location. It was a warm Indian summer day in November. We decided that we were going to vote as a family so we took the nice walk over to Bergenfield High School. We even joked that one day you both may be coming here to vote in just 17 years! :) As we walked toward the school we saw others taking time out of their work day to come & vote. As we walked into the hall everyone had something to say to us about the twins coming to vote. We smiled and thanked them for the compliments and moved on to the business at hand. Your dad & I signed in and walked behind the curtains to cast our ballots. I remember feeling so anxious and nervous as we walked out. Your dad & I smiled congratulated each other and the both of you on your very first presidential election vote! We walked out as though our vote today meant something more then any other vote we'd ever cast in the past. You see this year, 2008, was one of the most unprecedented presidential races we'd ever seen. And today we knew that all of the hard work these candidates had experienced the last 22 months would come to an end. At that moment the end was so uncertain. We talked about how we would describe this day to the two of you. We talked about how we would recount the day's events and really were so excited that we could sit you down & tell you all about it...one day. We got back home to check out the news on the TV and your dad decided he couldn't watch anymore until at least 6pm which is when some Indiana polls would close. So we distracted ourselves with other obligations for the day. We took you both to the doctors for your 5 month visit & you got your polio vaccine. Like good girls you didn't cry much & the doctor said you were doing WONDERFULLY!! Cati weighed 13lbs 8oz and Val weighed 13lbs 6oz and you both were over 25 inches long. We took you to do some shopping & had dinner at Applebees before heading back home. I kept thinking if my babies weren't so small we'd be somewhere with a large crowd to watch the results come in. But here you were so we planned out the last feeding for you that night & we were anxious to put you to bed soon! As we got your ready for bed Valentina decided this would be HER day in history too!!! One minute you were on your back & the next minute you decided to roll over on your belly for the first time. I bet it was all the excitement of the day. Your dad & I laughed and cheered as we celebrated your milestone. After all the excitement you both went to bed without much fuss. And like never before you slept soundly despite all of the yelling & laughing & talking we did most of the night. While you slept we watched this incredible orator take over the night in a race never before seen in hisotry since the days of Abraham Lincoln. We watched the news without flinching and struggling to stay awake because THIS night would be a special night for sure. Our nerves worked us through a ton of left over Halloween candy & ice cream! We watching diligently as state by state got announced blue or red. First big one New Hampshire, Vermont, the beginning of the end was nearing when Pennsylvania got announced blue, Orlando county in Florida was looking like it was going blue too. Virginia was being announced as a race too close to call and North Carlonia looked like it was going blue too. The whole northeast was now blue. Ohio results coming in was looking like blue too! Florida still too close to call but the blue was leading. As 10pm rolled in we couldn't help get excited but were too scared (like the media) to celebrate too soon. I was dozing off when your dad yelled "get up get up this is it! California polls are closing in a minute" And then I saw it on the big screen...CNN PROJECTS Senator Obama PRESIDENT ELECT! And that's how history was made.

!