Yes!

I went to bed early last night...long before any network was calling the election. I woke up to a loud bang...firecrackers, and audible cheers, ringing up and down the alleys of Bloomfield and Garfield.

Mark and I both woke up at once.

We won, we said to each other. And smiled.

Like most of our generation, we have a collective memory of September 11. I could pick out the exact shade of blue of the sky that Tuesday morning. Can see the towers crumbling on the television screen over and over again. I intimately know the sense of dread, that hasn't left me since, when President Bush announced war, and then war again. I remember the sickening feeling of seeing an old high school friend's picture on the television, when he was killed in Iraq. My adult life has a constant backdrop of casualties and uncertainty and fear. And Bush has used fear as a motivator for action, time and time again. It's hard to listen to all that fear talk without having it sink in a little bit, and permeate other aspects of your life.

Barack Obama is different. He didn't promise me anything. He simply gave me, and my generation, permission to take back our country. To act in our own best interest. To reject fear as a reason to form national policy. He gave us the courage to collectively stand up and say, things can be different. We can live peaceably. We don't have to fear the rest of the world. We can take care of each other.

I get all tingly when I think about his acceptance speech. Although I have a certain sense of relief that this election is over, and my chosen candidate has prevailed, I know the work has only just begun.

And I'm excited. I'm excited to see what I can do in the coming months and years to make sure that every single child in this country gets a decent education. I'm excited to help solve the public health crisis of uninsured Americans, a group I've been a part of on several occasions. I'm excited to think of a world that I can proudly travel as an ambassador of this great country.

This sense of excitement seemed to energize the whole city today. Everybody had a spring in their step that was not there yesterday.

And yes, Barack Obama is the first black president and that's historic and wonderful in its own right.

But even better is the message he brings. There are problems, but together, we can fix them.

Yes, we can.