a new family tradition

Yesterday, when I picked my son up from Kindergarten, I asked him if he knew that this was a special day. He said no, and I told him that it was Election Day, just as I would have told him it was easter or Halloween or any other holiday. He immediately latched on to the concept as I explained that today, we were choosing who would be President.

Throughout the remainder of the evening, he asked all kinds of questions about who would be President, he wanted to draw a picture for Barack Obama, and did so, then spent the rest of the evening talking about Barack Obama while coloring pictures of Justice League superheroes.

We all stayed up late watching Obama's acceptance speech, and once he finally got into bed and listened to his stories, he asked me to come in and sit. He likes to have me sing him a song or play one on the harmonica before he goes to sleep, so I went in and sang America the Beautiful and America, songs I remember singing nearly every day in Kindergarten when I was his age, but that he'd possibly never heard before and has definitely never sung before. It was like singing carols on Christmas Eve, or Auld Lang Syne on New Year's, and by gum, I actually felt what those songs were all about last night.

It wasn't patriotism or nationalism or jingoism I was feeling, it was relief. Disbelief, even. It made me feel back to my overwhelming emotional response when Obama promised in his acceptance speech to restore America's light in the world. It felt like we were making things right again. I've come to associate national pride with stupidity, selfishness, and willful ignorance over the past 8 years, and to be able to feel proud of something my country did, without reservation, was an amazing and beautiful feeling that I was ecstatic to be able to share with my kids.

So, because of all this, I hereby declare that Election Day will become a new family holiday in my house, to be celebrated annually and with much rejoicing.