Is there life after campaigning?

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Well, the day after the election I hung around the house; I just kept pinching myself. I didn't go to work and I didn't have to go the local Obama headquarters; so I looked around at the oh so many unfinished projects around here and since it was a nice day opted for an outdoor project; but really i mostly just did nothing. I really was in kind of a daze - happy for sure but also relieved - relieved that it was over and ended the way that i had only hoped but wasn't sure of until i heard them say it at about 11 PM on election night.

To recount election day - I went to work (begrudgingly- i wanted to be at HQ's); when i got there i checked my email and there it was an email from HQ's - "Vote and then get to a phone bank". Yipes! as much as i wanted to just quit and get on down there - i finished my morning shift, went to vote, came back -did the afternoon shift; then headed to HQ's. I thought we'd be there til 11:00 calling the west coast but at 7:30 we were released by the leader of this phone bank- told well maybe that is a good sign. well a few of us just looked at each other in disbelief - like what? stop now? go home and bite my nails?
Go home i did but the went out to a local Dem. party had a beer and a couple of slices of hot pizza ( a nice change from the steady diet of cold pizza and Halloween candy that i'd been eating down at HQ's.)
Back home and i settled down in front of the TV ( now with a glass of wine) at least now the Northeast had come in and he was ahead. Well i fell asleep and woke up to them saying that he'd won Virginia!! (what? Virginia? really? wow); went out to the kitchen for a glass of water and emptied the dishwasher (what was i thinking?- still working on nervous energy?). When i walked back into the sunroom, there it was on the TV - President elect Barack Obama!!!! OMG!!! I called my very good friend and reveled in the moment. I stayed up and watched his amazing acceptance speech,the shots of Times Square, DC and around the world in awe.

Then I went to bed happy and woke up happy and most importantly did not wake up in the middle of the night with night terrors ( what if? what if he doesn't win? what if the evil empire (Rep.) prevail with their robocalls and hate mail - i had woke up to an awful commercial that morning and then there were all those awful postcards from the Fla. Rep. committee to my Dad - who had passed away 3 yrs ago at 91 - a lifelong Democrat. I guess they just send them to all old people in Fla. then the news that they were calling Cubans in Fla. and telling them that Castro endorsed Obama. So so glad that all this was behind us now and that Yes we did! was the mantra of the day.

2 comments:

Lee said...

Have your smile muscles stopped aching yet?

Noelle said...

It's so great! Thanks for being part of the effort, I wish I could have done more, but I'm so glad it worked out anyway!