It wasn’t when they called the election on TV.
It wasn’t when they did a wide pan of the crowds in Grant Park
It wasn’t when they showed people cheering and sobbing in different parts of the country.
It was when they announced the next first family and I saw the four of them walk out on stage. This is our next first family. This is my next first family. Those girls. Those children. That joy. Malia doing her hop skip. Sasha waving madly to the crowd. Each holding the hand of their parents.
When someone once asked Gloria Steinem how old she was and she replied, "50," the response was, "Well you don’t LOOK 50" and she said, "Well, THIS is what 50 looks like."
THIS is what the new first family looks like.
Barack was so clear not to make this about race. And yet, seeing the four of them up there, with their gorgeous brown skin color, it hit me. YES WE CAN is the answer to so many questions.
And I cried this morning when Whoopi Goldberg said: I feel like I can finally put my suitcase down.
And I’ll keep crying. After so many years of being numb, it’s so great to feel some things again: hope, excitement, encouragement, faith, trust.