I Have A Dream...

Todd would say that I am a predictable person. In many ways I would agree, especially if you so closely resided in the private spaces of my life as he has for the last 10+ years. If you don't know me that well I like to think I may appear to be a bit more elusive, spontaneous, adventurous. I like to promote the facade that I am less emotional, sentimental, and traditional than most people but as I grow older I realize that is more and more the better descriptor of my personality. I am the kind of person that wears my emotions on my sleeve, relishes in nostalgia, and tries to encourage a simple lifestyle. I have many ways of displaying and promoting these feelings and beliefs, but they are what drives me forward. Past. Present. Future. Every decision I make, every path I follow, I am always moving toward the goal of a meaningful existence for me and, perhaps more importantly, my children.
Having said that, it is important to say that I am a very passionate person. When I care about something I care about it intensely and try my best to nurture it properly and thoroughly. This can be a good or a bad quality, just depends on the issue at hand or the person you talk to. (Lucky for you all Todd usually nips the really bad ones in the bud pretty fast. Those 10 years have taught him to speak up and do so firmly when necessary.)
I am also a very unconventional parent. Sometimes people don't understand my parenting philosophies. Todd and I have been criticized for what our kids watch, how they act, and what they say. So what if my 4 year old watches Kill Bill or The Dark Knight? It's a movie, pure fiction. He still says please and thank you and goes out of the way to help others. Who cares that my kids run around, jump off furniture, scream and yell? They're kids, that's what kids do. They sit still in church and at restaurants, they are quiet at the Dr.'s office and at the movies. Is it really a big deal that my tween sometimes uses cuss words? He's 11, he's trying things out for himself. We have always taught him there is a time and a place for everything and that these words are not bad, but reserved for adults that can choose to use them properly.
So how in the world does all this rambling fit together?
I am genuinely moved by the progress of our nation. Like many others, I am captivated by the intentions of president elect Obama and I am hopeful that his words are sincere. I am proud to be alive during a time when a man, regardless of his actual heritage, can provide generations of children with the ability to dream and achieve things they never thought possible. I am eager to share this moment in history with my children so that they can one day look back and say they remember when it happened.
However, we did not begin this movement toward the future without first trudging Nate through the past. It is easy to tell your kids that this occasion is momentous, but how do you help them understand why? Well, we do it by watching and talking. By inviting Nate to watch Mississippi Burning with us and explaining why some scenes bring tears to my eyes. By promising to one day take him to stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where shivers run up your spine at the sheer thought of words spoken there and where your common profile reflects in the same pool as many men of greatness before you. By sitting with him while he watches and listens to the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in their entirety. By answering his questions honestly.
Today is an anniversary, but also the end of one era and the beginning of another. We are all sitting on the verge of possible greatness, in a time of war and economic turmoil, at a crossroad between material wealth and personal happiness. Today I will sit back and listen to the dreams of one great motivator and tomorrow I will watch them come true for another. I will remind my children that though the world needs ditch diggers, it also needs people who care enough to do the digging others can't. Perhaps that is not how my critics would escort their children through this transition, but then again, I am not trying to raise conventional children.