Happy Election Day!

Four years ago, my friends & I took this photo at the end of a very, very happy evening in Washington, D.C. We'd been watching the election results roll in for hours, analyzing blog posts & news stories & social media as we tried desperately to determine where the race was headed. When Senator Barack Obama was announced as our next president, our reactions were mixed – but they were all reactions based in joy. There was shouting & laughing & crying & comically cartoonish jaw-dropping. Yes, we did.

That night, when I set out in the dark to make the walk home from Dupont Circle to Cleveland Park, there was extra bounce in my step & a giant smile on my face. Though I made much of the two-mile walk by myself, I never felt feel lonely or alone; in fact, the trek was a celebration in itself! Cars honked at one another as they drove by, & pedestrians blew party horns & whooped & hollered as they walked, waving & shouting at complete strangers. Someone from another country – Denmark, I think? – yelled at me from across the Klingle Valley bridge, "We're so proud of your country! You guys made the right choice!"

May we make it again today.  

Yes, we can.