We've just witnessed history.

President Obama and Family
Originally uploaded by zhaydi

A week ago, the United States held it's Presidential election ~ a long slog of campaigning that lasted for what seemed like forever. We had a glut of choices throughout those 2 years:

Democrats: Barak Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton (the little engine who thought she could & dang well should), Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson.

Republicans: John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, Fred Thompson, Tommy Thompson.

And don't forget Ralph Nader, who didn't even make it onto the Washington Post's list. (Is he still LIVING???!!)

Besides the spectacle of Hillary hanging on like an irritating drop-kick chiuaua on the country's ankle, we had the skewering of Mitt Romney and the question of whether a Mormon who wears "magic underwear" should be the President.

All those other guys? Meh.

When push came to shove, it was down to John McCain and Barak Obama. Naturally, the paranoid, uber-conservative, we-only-know-white-people, insular friends of ours came out in droves ~ emailing their hysterical anti-Obama warnings. He's Muslim! (So what?) His middle name is Hussein! (My middle name is Lynn, but I'm not in cahoots with Loretta Lynn.) He's black! (Okay. I won't even go there.) I even got an email that featured lines of red and blue of alternating huge type warning of the certain death of prayer, faith, God, and the downfall of the country if Barak Hussein Obama took the office. We were entreated to pray 4 times a day to "keep him out of the White House!"

I really liked both candidates. They each have things that I value. They each have things that I disagree with. I was so torn that I really had no idea who I was going to vote for. I felt that either one was a fine choice ~ or maybe that either choice might be the lesser of two evils!

So I didn't know who I would choose until I opened my mail-in ballot and had pen in hand. And when I sealed the envelope, I had a feeling of peace come over me. I don't know that it was a confirmation of a good choice, but I do know that I was glad it was over.

And now that all is said and done, I'm thrilled to have a black family in the White House. I believe that if he does nothing else, he will change the perception of the U.S. abroad ~ which is what we reeeeeaaaaallllllly need.

I don't know that I'll pray for him 4 times a day, but when I do pray, it will be that he will be protected, and will make good choices to help our country get back on track.

God Bless the United States of America!