election day 2008

i tossed and turned last night. i fell asleep wondering if it really had happened. i woke up and thought that it must have been a dream. had i really sat in a room with some of my closest friends and watch one of the most historical elections in our lifetime?

yes, i turned on the tv to assure myself.

i pinched myself and i was awake.

yesterday morning i decided to walk to my voting poll. i thought about driving but i thought that i wanted to savor the moment and reflect. i wanted to get away from npr, facebook, cnn and every other website that seemed to infiltrate my thoughts. i wanted to think for myself. i was sure of who i was voting for. i just wanted to think.

i thought back to jack and dolores brooks, my mom's parents. and i thought back to jesse sturdivant, my dad's dad. i thought back to my dad's mom, whom i've never met. and i thought about the fact that my parents were born in a time when they weren't treated equally because of the color of their skin.

so i walked and pondered the sacrifices of my family. i looked at my skin. my voting decision wasn't based simply on emotion, but it was complemented by the fact that this is historic and personal for all of us.

i stood in line and got nervous. i had the chills. and i couldn't believe that this was actually happening. i voted. and i left. and i walked home.

later that evening i watched the results with some of my closest friends. it didn't matter who we had voted for, we were simply enjoying the evening. again. within our parents' lifetimes, there were some who couldn't vote because of the color of their skin. that struck me. i sat, with my biracial boyfriend, my egyptian sister, my black brother, my mexican sister...friends who represent different faith traditions and we watched in unity as the votes came in.

we held our breath and then saw mccain concede. and then let it loose when obama spoke.

i don't really care what your political affiliation is. i really don't. this election has brought out the dirtiest and ugliest parts of my friends and your friends. i see it on facebook, i see it in blogs. it leaves a disgusting taste in my mouth. we've become a bitter, elitist, holier-than-thou group of people who can't seem to consider that we may not always be right.

this isn't an 'i told you so' blog. this is it's going to be okay blog.

we have a bi-racial, multi-national president in office. he represents so many aspects of our society on a basic level. he is black and he is white. united.

and we woke up and we are okay. like obama said...it is not about who we elected. it is what we do now.

good morning america. good morning.

this girl has my heart

my bff crocker wrote this and i love her.

The thing that has bothered me most about this particular election is the hate-filled fire of evangelical Christians towards Barack [they would take the time to say "Hussein"] Obama. Someone at church ACTUALLY told me that Obama is a Muslim terrorist ["i have the videos to prove it."] and that this election was not about issues but spiritual warfare.

Everytime someone says that they are "afraid of Barack Hussein Obama," I cringe. Maybe it's because many of those I count as friends are African-American or of mixed race. Maybe it's because my best friend is African-American. Maybe it's because my boyfriend [my heart] is African-American. [sorry for calling you guys out] But to me, to say that Obama "scares" them smacks more of racism than genuine concern for policy and politics.

The fact that so-called Christians would perpetuate such beliefs, innuendo and rumor is one of the reasons so many people despise Christianity [holier-than-thou attitudes aside].

Vote however you want.

Vote on issues [not just ONE ---- there are more than one].

But realize that the things you say do reflect on the Christian community as a whole.


****I'm done with debating the issues in this election as I have already cast my ballot, so please don't make this a forum for further debate.*****

things that make me happy

mandy makes me happy. she humors me.
today she taped a box for me. i cannot stand the sound of tape.
at all.
i don't like touching it. i don't like hearing it RIP RIP RIP apart.
i hate when it gets stuck on my fingers and then decides to tape itself to itself.
i hate it.

and mandy helped me.
thank goodness.

election day

this morning i heard the funniest quote ever. as i was getting ready for a pilates class, a regular, john, began talking about a coworker.

this coworker listens to a particularly conservative talkshow host. his name rhymes with dush bimbaugh. his coworker told john that he was upset with his wife because she decided to vote for obama.

and john laughed. and couldn't believe it. he then said.

he shouldn't take it personally. it's not like his name and barack's names were both on the ballot and she picked him over her husband. no, she can choose however she wants to choose.

i loved it. it's going to be okay everyone. read this interesting article on a friend's facebook.

happy voting.

today

i picked up a red leaf because it was beautiful. i'm a lover of colors. they evoke emotion in me. just like good music. i'll look at this leaf when it's cold outside. and when i don't see any color. and it will remind me of this day. nov. 3 when it was warm outside.

i also had a random dance party with mandy. music makes me want to move my feet.

i also had a random dance off with kenley. he won. i lost because i broke a rule. whoops.

crock pot sundays

i want to eat more natural food. it's easy for me to fall back on my faithful companions of processed, frozen food. it's a discipline for me to plan out my week to include more fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and other products. so this is my second sunday of cranking up my crock pot for my week's worth of meals (at least for lunch).

last week i made that lovely swiss chard, black bean and butternut squash chili. it was a hit. i loved it. this week i'm venturing out and doing a little weight watcher's recipe - slow cooker lasagna. i'll have some sauteed spinach and feta on the side. it will be so great!

right now i'm watching MR. T on an informercial for the flavorwave. times are tough apparently. i wonder if you could determine how the economy is doing by watching informercials and who they have as their special guests.

sweaty palms

my anxiousness usually finds me in my dreams. sometimes i dream about the cry. sometimes i dream about money. but last night i dreamt about the elections.

so this morning when i woke up, i turned the television on and saw three political ads back to back. then meet the press.

my stomach literally dropped. it could be because i need to poop. but i'd like to think that i'm a little anxious about the election.

but what i'm realizing is that i'm not anxious at all about the candidates. really. i'm not. i prefer one to the other. i feel confident in my decision. i don't feel like i need to defend it. and i really don't feel like i need to badger someone else to change their decision. (i did do that two a couple of close friends). but i think that they know it's out of love :). but really though. they weren't heated conversations.

what i'm anxious about is how this election has brought out the worst of both parties. i am a bit biased and tend to feel that there's a particular party who has taken their fight a little too far. but i admit, i'm biased. it saddens me that people have gotten so caught up in their side. that's the problem...their side. there's no talk about our side, our country or our problems...or solutions. it's our party's side, country, solutions, numbers, electoral votes. if you're not THEIR side, you're on the wrong side and it becomes political, spiritual and personal. i look at my friends in a different light when they send me THOSE emails...my palms are sweaty when i see a particularly obnoxious blog comment. and i ask...who are you? who are these people? i had no idea that it would come down to this.

anyway. i'm happy because the time changed. im happy because it is beautiful outside.