Thinking about Barack Obama
I've been thinking quite a lot about Barack Obama and his family this week, not in terms of the election, but as a man and a family. It saddened me to hear that his grandmother died just a couple days before the election. Can you imagine how proud she would have been to hear that her grandson became not only the President of the United States, but the first African-American President? Wow. My partner wondered if she felt satisfied enough with the polls showing him the likely winner and just gave in and let go. I find myself wondering what he will do when tonight is over - will he just collapse for a week out of exhaustion and grief? Or, when he wins (I refuse to think in terms of "if"), will he immediately jump into planning? Whatever his method of coping is, I hope he knows that somewhere, in whatever form they're in, his mother and grandmother must be extraordinarily proud.
Then I find myself wondering about Michelle Obama. She looks like a really nice woman - the kind of person you'd like to sit down and have coffee with and talk about the latest book you've read and where to find a good handyperson to fix that leaky faucet. Approachable, smart, and kind. And I wonder, how do you decide, as a couple or as a family, that you're willing to go through the roller coaster ride that is the presidential race, and then to become the President and First Lady of the U.S.? Especially with two young kids. How do you explain to them that Daddy isn't around as much as he'd like to be? Or do they already understand that from his time as a Senator and during the race? And then I wonder, is Michelle terrified that something might happen to her husband? There are a lot of kooks out there, and he is well on the way to becoming the first African-American President, which won't sit well with some of those kooks. Do you just decide to put your fate in the hands of whatever higher power you believe in? Do you decide that the good of the many is more important than the good of the few? That the good he can do outweighs the risk? I can't even fathom it. I get anxious when I know my partner is in rush hour traffic and she doesn't get home when I expect her. Those Obamas are pretty amazing folks. Lucky us.
Then I find myself wondering about Michelle Obama. She looks like a really nice woman - the kind of person you'd like to sit down and have coffee with and talk about the latest book you've read and where to find a good handyperson to fix that leaky faucet. Approachable, smart, and kind. And I wonder, how do you decide, as a couple or as a family, that you're willing to go through the roller coaster ride that is the presidential race, and then to become the President and First Lady of the U.S.? Especially with two young kids. How do you explain to them that Daddy isn't around as much as he'd like to be? Or do they already understand that from his time as a Senator and during the race? And then I wonder, is Michelle terrified that something might happen to her husband? There are a lot of kooks out there, and he is well on the way to becoming the first African-American President, which won't sit well with some of those kooks. Do you just decide to put your fate in the hands of whatever higher power you believe in? Do you decide that the good of the many is more important than the good of the few? That the good he can do outweighs the risk? I can't even fathom it. I get anxious when I know my partner is in rush hour traffic and she doesn't get home when I expect her. Those Obamas are pretty amazing folks. Lucky us.