An unbelievable night
I cried when I heard the news. I am so proud of every person who voted for Obama. For saying "enough is enough" and voting for change, for hope, and for our future. Never in my life have I ever seen such joy at the outcome of an election. There are tears, there is singing, there is dancing in the street. And, in our house, there is champagne.

Today was an odd day. I have never been so careful filling out a ballot in my life as I was this morning. I slowly clicked through to the name Obama and then just stared at it. I clicked, and stared again. I double-checked to make sure I voted right. I actually checked each line on my ballot before submitting it. Then I checked each line on the paper print-out. Then I went home and began to pace. I couldn't concentrate on anything for more than 5 minutes. I baked brownies (my new passion is baking). I surfed the web. I tried to read my book. I put it down again. I channel surfed on TV. I panicked. I hated that I had to do my radio show tonight because I wanted to stay home.

And I still don't feel like it's real. We made our first donation to Obama the day he announced his candidacy. We've been with him the entire time -- which is usually the kiss of death for our candidate of choice. And we've obsessed, and we've worried, and we've gotten more and more excited about the prospect of this man actually becoming our next president. And now it's real and yet it feels so unreal.

There are rare times in each life where they feel like they are actually part of history. For me I've had two of those. The candlelight vigil in San Francisco after Moscone and Milk were killed, and the AIDS quilt display on the mall in Washington. An now I've had a third moment. I was part of this tidal wave that voted for Obama. I took part in the election that captured the eyes of the world. I was inspired to stand up with everyone who hates where the Bush administration has taken us and did my part to help bring about a victory.

There is no possible way I can be eloquent enough to capture what today has meant for so many. And I know the web will be filled with poetic personal reflections, witty observations, and intelligent commentaries about the day. All I can say is that for the first time in a very, very long time, I am proud to be American.