Three things I noticed in the past 24 hours:

1) In the footage from the post-election celebrations last night, I saw a young black man leaned out the window of a car around 13th and U streets, shouting for joy and waving a large American flag. It stood out for me, because it reminded me of the many times I'd seen the same thing....in Croatia, where it's customary to fly a huge flag out your car window before a wedding. There, the flag made me think of nationalism in the negative sense. Here, I was pleased and amazed. It's something you don't often see here, at least until now.

I had a memorable taxi ride once up Georgia Avenue, from the 9:30 Club to our old apartment in Twin Towers (this was pre-kids, of course). The black taxi driver spoke to me about his experiences after Vietnam, when he was treated in a racist fashion by the DC Police. He said that it made him so mad -- especially after his service to his country -- that he wanted to take his weapon and start shooting. I had heard revealing stories like that from cab drivers before, but never in the U.S. In fact, that was the only time I'd ever heard anything like that in a cab in America. The guy in the car last night called to mind the taxi driver, and all that he had been through. I hope the taxi driver was also out there yesterday, cheering from the heart.

2) In the same footage from 13th and U, I saw a DC Metrobus was slowly making its way through the celebrating crowds. As the bus moved past the camera, some of the people on it began cheering and waving. I thought, wow. These people are probably working poor, either heading home after doing their work or heading to work late for the night shift. But they feel hopeful and excited, and most importantly they feel included enough in the election and its aftermath to cheer out the window of a bus.

3) Earlier that evening, Philip said to me, "Mommy, can the President be a girl, or does he have to be a boy?" I felt like I had been waiting for that question all my life. I said, "The President can be a woman or a man. In fact, there was a woman who ran for President, but she didn't get elected." Yay, Hillary! I'm so happy I'm able to say something like that. And I look forward to saying it to my daughters someday as well. (I said something about Sarah Palin too, but it wasn't as complimentary. But much as she makes me shudder, she's actually something of a role model for working women with kids in that she makes me feel less like a freak for being a full-time working mother of 3.)

So....I'm still cheering and crying for joy and feeling amazed. I'm doing it internally now, but it's still there. Wow....I'm so proud of us. Today on my lunch break I'm going to steal some time to visit the Lincoln Memorial, to enjoy the time.