Well....

So the presidential election is over.....My first thought was to type "God help us all" and leave it at that. But then I got to thinking that that's a pretty unfair thing to write.
I cast my vote for the first time today and it was a good feeling. I have been eligible to vote in two other election years, but I didn't do so. The first time, I was pretty young and I did not know very much about the candidates, so I chose not to vote. The second time, I didn't know that I had to register in my new town in order to vote, so I couldn't. This time, I was determined to do everything I needed to in order to cast my vote. I even took all four children with me so that they could see firsthand the voting process. It took just a few minutes. I feel like this was a very important year to vote and I felt like my vote might really make a difference. I'm grateful that I live here in a country that allows all adult citizens to freely cast their vote for the leader of their country. I believe it is so important that we educate ourselves about the potential leaders of the country, and not just vote because it is expected of us.
I was able to watch the speeches of both John McCain and Barack Obama tonight and I was moved by both. I felt that McCain's was so full of emotion and a genuine love of the country. For the first time, watching the speech of a politician, I was moved almost to tears. He struck me as a man of integrity and honor. Did America make the right choice? I also respected that Obama, in his speech, asked us to give him a chance and that he said we needed to heal the divides in this country. This is true, and I sincerely hope that we will give him a chance, and that he will be able to heal the country. As much as I have hated the fact that race has been dragged into this election (when are we just going to be plain Americans, and not Native Americans, African Americans, etc.??), I realize that Obama really broke down some barriers to become president. Will he help heal the rifts in this country and not cause them to widen? I hope so. I certainly hope that this is what we need to put the ugliness and intolerance of our predecessors behind us. That's important. It needs to be done. We need to be one nation.
For the first time in an election, perhaps because I have tried to educate myself on the issues as much as possible, I feel a genuine apprehension over what the future holds. Or perhaps it's because I have four children I love more than life and I worry for their safety and well-being. Perhaps it's because as a couple, George and I have teetered on the brink of financial crisis for far too long. Perhaps it's because we know people who have lost their jobs and are teetering, too. I'm concerned. I don't know that Obama can make things better for us. But he deserves a chance, doesn't he? I mean that's what America is all about - opportunity.
So that's enough about politics from me. I'm all about giving people chances, but at the same time I'm going to go into this new era with my eyes and ears open and with an air of extreme caution. I just have a hard time believing that Obama is the answer to our problems. Would McCain have been? I just don't know about that, either. I think we need a miracle.
OK, I'm being melodramatic....maybe....