My Birthday Blessings

President Elect Barack Obama

So I got a new president for my birthday. And the whole country had a bunch of really big parties. I didn't get to attend most of them, but I sure appreciate the thought. I heard the one in Chicago was really phenomenal.

Every 28 years, my birthday seems to fall on election day. This year was the year. Last time, the election was in favor of Ronald Reagan and I was very bummed because the adults all sat around talking about the election and not focusing on the important stuff, namely, my birthday! This year I was old enough to appreciate what a great present I was getting.

I did get a lot of other wonderful presents. My kids know me so well - Will got me a book, which is always a good present for me. Ellen got me a new Nancy Drew game. And don't laugh - they are seriously good fun. Sarah got me a bunch of my favorite treats. I also got jewelry and new sheets. But my coolest present is my new ipod from Randy. I LOVE this thing! I tried posting a picture, but I couldn't get it to work. It has 8 GB! That's 8 times more than my old one! I put all my songs on there and I can't believe how much room I have left. I've been downloading songs way too much. I am so happy with it. And then there were my wonderful friends who stopped by with presents. Thanks to Maleen and Ivory and Reva. And my cake was naturally extremely yummy. And not just because I made it, but just because it's always yummy!

But as I have thought about my birthday after the fun was all over, I have decided that my best present was not one I could wrap. I feel extremely blessed to be living in my country, here and now. No, the United States is not a perfect place to live. There is still violence, poverty, and injustice, here just like everywhere else, mostly because it is full of human beings, and we are not perfect yet.

I started off my birthday by going to vote. While I was there, I saw all kinds of friends from my neighborhood - Reva, Sunny, the Hadlocks, the Redfords - and lots of them with their children. I enjoyed a chance to visit with everyone and get my sticker. Then I went on with the rest of my day, playing on the computer, making a cake, celebrating with family.

But think about how monumentous that really is. I got to vote. That puts me in the minority of the human race in the entire history of time. I am lucky enough to live in a country where I can go to the polls and vote. Even as a woman, which I feel is no disadvantage, but historically would not be in my favor. And casting that vote didn't cost me any money, it didn't involve any real sacrifice, it didn't put me in danger. And my vote counted.

And even better, I got to see my country take a huge step forward to the day when all human beings are really treated as equal. Maybe now, race will not be an issue in an election. And maybe one day, gender and religion will not matter either. Maybe the issues will matter. I think that day may be a long way off, but then there are those who thought that this day was a long way off. And here it is, in my lifetime.

Now I just have another 28 years to wait for my Election Day Birthday. It's kind of hard to imagine what that will be like. Will I be surrounded by grandchildren? Will we still be watching the election returns on the television? I don't know. But I know that the right to vote will still be one of my most valuable presents.