Dreams and Expectations

[vdansk]

Obama is in the White House....and, just as important, Sarah Palin is not a 72 year old heart beat from ruling the free world.  My Mom, after more than 3 months, 2 surgeries, and 3 broken bones, is home again.  And the vacation I have been planning for about 5 years starts in 4 days.

There is an attitude that too high expectations inevitably lead to disappointment.  I have the opposing attitude--that anticipation is it's own pleasure, and that our beliefs and expectations actively shape the world around us.

Charles is offended every time that someone refers to Obama as our "black president".  "He's an American president," he protests.  "He's my president.  Why does his ancestry matter at all?"

And I understand that, I do.  But I will never forget  the story a friend told me, of how when she was 11 years old, her parents took her to an African American dentist...and for the first time in her life, she thought--"You mean I could do that?  Be a dentist, or a doctor?"

It never in my life occurred to me that there was ANYTHING I could not be.  My eldest has asked me such memorable questions as "Mommy, can boys be doctors, too?"  And my youngest has the ambition to reform the world in her own image.  If there are still children out there who need this moment of proof, this blinding example--than hallelujah that they have it.  And, as foreign to my own life as it is--I know those children exist, today, just as they did 30 years ago.

And so, I will continue to expect miracles, small and large.  I will believe in magic and dreams...and warm winds and golden sand and moments of peace away from my beloved daughters.  And I will let, encourage, PERSUADE my expectations to shape my world.

Comments

[xanath.livejournal.com]

To everything you've written . . . yes. Exactly.

I hope you and Charles enjoy your vacation!

[perimyndith.livejournal.com]

It makes me so happy that Vivian and other kids her age are even now being brainwashed with the image of a black man as President. She is entirely too young to have even noticed race exists, but if Obama has 2 terms she'll be 11 before she sees a white President. In some ways (not all ways, but many) it could be as important for white kids as black kids (or any other race) to incorporate this particular form of "normal" into their worldview. :)

Also, have a great vacation. Where are you going?

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

And so, I will continue to expect miracles, small and large. I will believe in magic and dreams...and warm winds and golden sand and moments of peace away from my beloved daughters. And I will let, encourage, PERSUADE my expectations to shape my world.

funny, this is so Anne Shirley. and Deva.

and me. :)