Inaugural Ball!

This is a day to celebrate! I watched Barack Obama being sworn in at my younger son's school, amidst a group of very happy Berkeleyans, and the Kleenex box was passed around many times--for the tears of joy, relief and sorrow for the sadness of the past. I thought his speech was brave and eloquent and pitch perfect for the times. How wonderful to have a smart, competent leader in the White House for a change.

We know a few people who had tickets to the ceremony, but I'm busy assembling our own private "inaugural ball" for tonight.

We're having champagne from a smaller producer--Nicolas Feuillatte--(plus sparkling cider for the boys) some Camilla formaggio di capra, an almost fluffy, subtly flavored goat cheese, some yummy Beecher's Flagship cheese (which really does taste like buttered popcorn like my cheese store said, but in a good way) and baguette from our local Cheese Board, followed by wild Alaskan salmon with a mustard-brown sugar rub and organic broccoli. Dessert--an encore of my melt-in-your-mouth Finnish spoon cookies by popular request. I was even braver with the butter this time for a richer flavor.

Afterwards, we'll all dance and celebrate.

Here's a toast to our new President!

Hope!

It's been twelve long years since I've felt good the day after a presidential election, but boy do I feel good today! I have to say for the past eight years, the course our political leaders have followed has given me great pain. I've dealt with it by going numb to a certain degree, as if I were in deep freeze.

With Barack Obama's decisive victory, I'm suddenly back in the sunshine. As I listen to the post-election analysis on public radio (I wasn't able to stomach the news much during the "dark years"), I find myself tearing up again and again. Most of it is "good" tears of pride in my country for proving again it is the land of opportunity and hope, joy that a leader of intelligence, judgment and genuine caring will be taking over as president, and profound relief that we can begin moving forward again under the energy and vision of a leader in the prime of his life. But I also realize that some of the tears are due to the inevitable pain at the thawing of my protective armor. Hope does take courage. In some ways it is safe and easy to be cynical about politics, but I do care, and I've always cared what happens to this country for my children and for reasons beyond my own limited self-interest. I realized when I visited Ellis Island a few weeks ago, that America really was the land of hope, freedom and higher ideals for millions of immigrants. And that magic at the heart of the American dream is still there today as yesterday's results prove!

BUT, when I'm not crying, I am definitely smiling! And I thank all of my friends for their hard work in making this possible. Jeremy Edwards and Craig Sorensen helped us win Pennsylvania. My sister worked for Obama in Virginia. To everyone who voted, everyone who cared--THANK YOU! And to President-elect Obama--I know you'll show everyone that intelligence, an understanding of complexity, and the wise planning you learned from community organizing (I'll bet you're not snickering now Guiliani and Palin) make for a great presidency.

Whew this hope thing feels good!