From euphoria to reality to hope

Unlike most Americans who sat glued to their television on Tuesday night, I was installing concrete pavers for my landscape construction class. I guess there was a part of me that thought our instructors would let us out of class early so that we could witness an occasion so precious, so momentous, so spectacular...one of the most significant moments in our nation's history...but noooooooooo, instead we excavated the subgrade for our next landscape project and then watched a freaking video on how to install a brick patio that was made in the mid-90s. That last detail is of no relevance or consequence, I realize, but still.

At 9:50 pm I rushed out to my car to listen to NPR - my classmates seemed to be walking rather slowly all things considering, and then I heard one of them saying they'd been receiving text messages from NPR and already knew that Obama won. WHAT!!???? OMG! A sound of elation exited my mouth. I could hardly contain myself and ran to my car to hear for myself the good news. I wept in the parking lot of Portland Community College. On my way home I felt euphoric...tears of joy ran down my cheeks. I can't remember the last time I cried over something good that was happening. The last several months I've wept...but they were far from tears of joy. This was something new and different. All of the hopes, prayers, and tremendous organizing across the country actually WORKED.
Yes, we did.

My friend Eritrea called me that night and we cheered and shouted for joy over the phone. She said, "God is good! Halleluia!" I could not be more happy and proud and satisfied at that moment. The tears welling up in my eyes continued through the following morning. Everyone at the office came in with a thumbs-up sign and unshakable grin. It was a good day.

. . .

The euphoria has worn off now, reality is settling back in. We now as a nation are poised to confront and tackle the world's most pressing problems. Global climate change. Devastating poverty and disease. A crippling economy. A national deficit unlike anything we've seen before. The mess in Iraq. The quagmire in Afghanistan, Pakistan and surrounding nations. The uncertainty in Iran. The violence in Darfur, which, continues despite numerous peace accords, naming it a genocide by world leaders, and a massive public outcry. Species extinction. Depletion from our ever-more-polluted oceans. Water pollution and scarcity. Deforestation. All of the above spurring on more global conflict. This world is a crazy mess. What shall we do now?

Take life one step at a time. This has been my mantra of choice in recent days, mostly for personal reasons, but it applies here as well. I am so hopeful that things are going to change. I am proud that our country chose well, and extraordinarily glad we had the opportunity to elect a man of Barack Obama's caliber and character to lead and direct us. It's going to be an exciting next four years.