Phew...

If you could see me now, you would see me doing my happy dance. That is in between the tears I can't seem to stop shedding.

He won. We have elected a black president only 50 years after the civil rights movement. And, just to put a little kick in my step, he won by a landslide.

This is the president that my children will grow up with. They will see a very important black man on their TV for (hopefully) 8 years. This is the generation of change - starting with the young voters who turned up yesterday down to my little ones with hands too small to fit into winter gloves -they will change the world.

Sandi says she wonders if Tina Fey was rooting for McCain just so she could keep up the Sarah Palin skits. Sorry you had to take one for the team, Tina. I will miss you.

Not wanting to miss this historical moment, Maya decided to stay up and watch the election coverage with me. She didn't feel well and was a boomerang, standing in her crib crying every time I set her back in there. She stayed up until after the announcement, playing on my lap, me hoping the Tylenol was going to work its systemic effect at some point before dawn.

Ella watched the Grant Park rally and Obama acceptance speech this morning and commented about all the people: "There are as many of them as pine cones in our yard." Not too far off. Yesterday, in preschool they were teaching the kids about voting and had them cast a vote for their favorite Teddy Graham. Chocolate chip won by a landslide.

In his acceptance speech Obama was promising our country we could pull ourselves out of this mess, that we would all work together with set backs and false starts but that we could and would do it. The crowd cheered, "Yes. We. Can."

And here come the tears again.