i am having an out of body experience. and its magical. i woke up late this morning and walked outside into washington heights. a group of kids were passing me by chatting "obama! obama!" the Hispanic man next to me joined right in. i hopped onto the C local downtown. two nuns came on at 135th, sat across from me...continuing their conversation in spanish. i could understand only two things: the word obama and their smiles. next a teenager who was deaf came onto the train. she didn't know how to get to brooklyn. i wrote down the directions for her. she wrote thank-you in return. at 96th street i climbed the stairs and saw an older women wearing an obama shirt and carrying a bag. i asked if i could help and carry the bag for her. she smiled "its not that heavy, but you can carry me" sarcasm, always love it. i had extra time today and walked through central park to the east side. the colors are bright. the leafs are falling. things are changing. hugs were everywhere at work. hope. joy. and parties in offices. old staff members stopping by my office to see me. everyone wants to experience this together. more hugs. more tears. my kids walked in and i was overwhelmed with what this means to them. they spent today coloring pictures and writing him letters. here are some of their quotes:

"I knew you would win. I hope you make changes that the world loves. I think you should be president forever"

"i'm happy that you won because you are the first black president. Im' so proud that you won. When i get older I want to be president because you get to wear nice suits"

"I am so exited for you and I can't wait until you change the world in my life."

"I want you to make the world a safer place"

"Congratulations for achieving your goal. I love you because of your convincing speeches and your generosity for everyone. I want you to make the United States a better place to live such as stop littering. I am proud of you because you are my role model"

"Congratulations Obama you were great out there. I loved your speech it was awesome. I love you and I want you to give us a change, because we need a change. Also, can i tell you something? You are going to be in history because you are the first African American president in all time. I'm going to say it again Congratulations!"

"I love you because you love me"

i love that last quote. i think it sums up a lot. she loves him because he loves her. how simply put and beautiful that line is. this whole process for me all comes down to love. a love that is full of understanding for the least of us. a love full of hope for the most deprived. a love full of ideas for those who need to worry about living and whp need someone else to worry about how to fix this all. these kids are growing up in an new America. an America that says you are important. you are represented for. you will be listened to. we are on our way to equality.

i also want to mention that even though proposal 8 did not turn out the way it should have. we now have a president that mentioned in his acceptance speech that gay was a minority. i know that this change will come in my lifetime. equality of love will be here. it will take time and patience. but its clear now we live in a country were people can change. and rights can be given and received. today it seems crazy that when obama was born his parents could not be married in most states because of his father's race. i hope that my children will live in an age were the fact that two people couldn't get married because of their gender will seem crazy. but today, in the end i want to focus on the strides we have come. on the love that has been given. and the change we have been given the chance to make.