Hope

I'm feeling hopeful after the election. Not only the fact that we are no longer under a Republican regime but also the fact that so many people voted. Troy and I had to wait in line in the rain to vote for about 1/2 an hour (even though I left work in the very late morning to vote) but the Obama volunteers were passing out umbrellas, food, and water. Pretty cool to see and smart!

I heard on the radio that a 100 year old woman in Charlottesville who had never voted before in her life registered to vote for Obama. Now that is inspiring.

There is a lot of work to be done though. I liked that Obama recognized that in his speech and that he called upon people to rise up to help to bring the change. I hope that Obama is able to keep motivating people and able to stick to his guns and remember who got him elected in the midst of pressure from big time politicians. I'm pretty worried about that. Only time will tell.

One person that that is incredibly inspirational to look to in a time like this is the late Senator from MN, Paul Wellstone. Troy and I happened upon his memorial when we were home. It was a beautiful fall day--the Tamaracks all golden--and we saw the sign for the memorial and knew we had to go. We had never had the opportunity to visit the site before.

It was a truly powerful experience. Walking through the memorial we were both brought to tears. Just thinking about the strength and perseverance and the good that he worked tirelessly for. And his wife Sheila, who also was killed, was a strong advocate for battered women. Wellstone was never apologetic, always standing up for what he believed in and for the "little guy." As a politician he was one of a kind, he was not immune to the suffering of the world or the misfortune of others--but recognized and rebelled against these things with all of his being. What a tremendous example for all of us.