It’s 6 am and only a whisper of gray invades the black of the night trying to tug at the sun beyond the horizon. Absent are the peeps of rousing birds and there’s a whiff of last eve’s fading rain. There’s also the missing, “grandma I’m awake. time for pancakes!”
After such an emotional trip through the election last week and beyond, I thought I would be able to relax my mind and savor the out come quietly over the weekend, but alas fate had other plans for me. Early Saturday my 3 yr. old grandaughter and 8 yr. old step grandaughter were deposited at my door to visit until the next evening so that their parents could relax. The nine year old grandson, “R” arrived the next morning at 9 am as usual so his mom and dad could go to work and then of cousre with Veterans Day and no school, he was a constant figure here. Three children added to the company of a spouse who always thinks he is attention deprived and is set on a weekend schedual of shopping and chores is not conducive to relaxation! Throw in doctor appoinments. a trip to the library. unplanned for “drop in friends” and keeping up with the chaos of added cleaning, I’ve had little time for myself, never mind a clear head for writing.
There’s nothing like kids to make life special, no mater how much they like to confuse and tangle a grandmothers routine. The seriousness in their conversations can often be humorous truth. Upon learning that his cousin was here with her sister he said, “You mean now I have to put up with TWO little kids?” Laughing, I told him that no, he was entitled to quiet time away from pesky younger kids just like his 14 yr. old cousin needed from him when they were visiting together. It’s not often easy to acomplish but we try to be balanced and fair with all of them. Each one has a personal toy or item here to keep them occupied and are not allowed to use what belongs to someone else without the owners permission. Over time we have bought a few toys or activity items that they can all use. They were told that these items were grandpas and they had to ask before using them and keep them neat and in good shape. There’s no problem with any of them picking up when they are done.
“R” asked if he could go to the park. The soon to be 4 yr. old said, “When I was a baby, I went to that park too.” I guess she grew up in 2 months!
Two days before the next visit, perhaps I will get something done, maybe even some real writing! 
Peace!
Dreams and hope do not die unless we let them. The roads we travel may be long and full of obstacles, and there may be times we want to give up, but with each step we take and with each obstacle over come we gather and build our strength. Our journeys start alone but when we find others along the way to travel with it’s much easier to climb over the mountains of problems we encounter and to lift each other up over the barriers that try to hold us back. Barak Obama has taught the masses the power of unity and that by uniting we, the common people can accomplish what many think is impossible.
We must stay united and vigilant as we travel down this new road in history and not slip back into the apathy that stagnated our growth as individuals and as a large community of humanity over the recent past. It’s our duty to stay informed and to keep our youth involved so that we do not fall back on destructive ways. It starts at the bottom. Get to know and understand your local communities and become involved if you can even if it’s only voicing your opinions in newspapers, because that is where the path to the top begins.
I sincerely hope that some time before I leave this world that race and gender becomes redundant in assessing the motives of the general public through polls and statistics. This election is proof that people have overwhelmingly moved far beyond the controversies that the news media and others try throw at us. Forty one years ago when I first encountered the question “which race are you” on a form I thought to myself, “how stupid?” I skipped past “white” to the box that said “other” and wrote HUMAN race and to this day I continue that practice. I’ve never been questioned about it, but then I’ve never applied for a visa either. Taking the issue of race off all forms would be a great step in furthering the destruction of racism. This election has proved that people can see beyond race and use intelligence to make critical decisions.
I have found renewed hope for my country and am proud that my fellow Americans had the vision and courage to step out of their comfort zones to help move the United States of American forward by electing Barak Obama for President.
To all my African American friends and acquaintances I’ve had over the years, savor this moment in time as you have earned it like no others! To all my fellow Americans, hold onto this moment in time and remember that we are one together in this march forward.
This is a must see!
