"Obama Won," by Indigo Keohane, age 8, November 4th, 2008.I have tried to remain partisan-neutral in my blog posts calling everyone to vote. But after last night, I can't keep quiet anymore. When the presidency was called, I sat for several minutes in shock. Was it true? Was I dreaming? Was it another early call, going to be recalled in the next few minutes, too close to count, too many problems at the polls?!? Then I saw the landslide that called Obama as our new President Elect, and the floodgates opened. I was so overwhelmed with joy and pride in our country, that I spent the next 30 or 40 minutes crying. Indigo thought I was crazy, crying with joy, and couldn't stop laughing at me. But she was obviously overjoyed as well, (and bored at the hours of NBC newscasts that we had been watching all evening), and drew this great picture to show it. (Notice the moon is saying "yay!")!
I realize that, at 8 years old, with a very liberally-minded mother, of course she shares my feelings and my opinions. But we watched one of the debates together, with me trying to explain it all to her. It helped me to challenge my own opinions and knowledge, explaining everything from the ground up to help her understand. We also talked about what other people thought, those with opossing opinions, and why. Some day she will be old enough to make her own decisions, to have a clearer understanding of it all, and even if she diverges from my own politics, I will still be as proud of her as can be. In the meantime, I can't be prouder that I was able to share such an historic evening with her. That, at 8 years old, she could join me in some inkling of comprehension of what this all means to us as a country.
Yes we can. And we did.
I realize that, at 8 years old, with a very liberally-minded mother, of course she shares my feelings and my opinions. But we watched one of the debates together, with me trying to explain it all to her. It helped me to challenge my own opinions and knowledge, explaining everything from the ground up to help her understand. We also talked about what other people thought, those with opossing opinions, and why. Some day she will be old enough to make her own decisions, to have a clearer understanding of it all, and even if she diverges from my own politics, I will still be as proud of her as can be. In the meantime, I can't be prouder that I was able to share such an historic evening with her. That, at 8 years old, she could join me in some inkling of comprehension of what this all means to us as a country.
Yes we can. And we did.
