Dreaming with her eyes open…

Dreaming with her eyes open…

Hope is a beautiful thing that causes many of us to open our eyes and dream. What a wonder it is to dream with the lights on…you know in the face of difficult times. To believe that life can be better for your family and friends. This is the kind of hope I saw in the eyes of my mother…a woman who has seen so much in her life that could bring both tears and joy to the eyes of those that would know her story. I will never forget that evening early on in the election process. To be honest at that point I was not sure who I would vote for Clinton or Obama. Not until I watched my mother standing in the family room sharing with passion her reason for choosing to place her vote with Barack Obama. Long before I heard it on the news…my mother called Mr. Obama a brilliant man…someone with the ability to implement the much needed steps to change the unfortunate direction our nation was headed in. With my husband in Iraq…my mother has been a witness to the impact this war has had on military families. Her reasons had nothing to do with his race or his party.

Her thoughts were with her family…healthcare…education…the bottom line is my mother wanted to be a witness to the positive change our country has need of. The road to election night led each of us to conversations with co-workers, friends and family. Hope in my mother’s eyes helped each of us to believe that race would not be the key that locked the door on bringing Obama to the White House…but that his brilliance and ability to bring people together would be the key to open the door to the White House.

I will never forget attending the 2008 Trumpet Awards here in Atlanta…my favorite moment was listening to Michelle Obama speak to the audition about why each of us should vote for Barack Obama…she was so real so sincere about each would she spoke!

On election night when Fox News reported Obama would be the next President of the United States of America my mother and I cried tears of joy and hope fulfilled! I am both excited and ready for the hard work ahead of this great nation. Congratulations to President-Elect Obama and your lovely family!