Consider Us Organized

I can't really begin to put into words what I've just experienced.  I walked into the Obama office at the end of September for Barack, and I kept going back because of the people supporting him and because I knew I was working with and for some of the best people around.  The Republicans may joke about community organizers, but I have seen first-hand how much of an impact it makes to actually do things in your community.  Maybe I don't have responsibility per se, but I always felt like I was actually doing something with others.  We were working together.  I wasn't bossing anyone around, but supporting others to do what they came to do.

Today was amazing.  I woke up and watched Obama vote with his family.  Since I wasn't going to the polls myself, I needed the connection to voting today to get me going.  I bounded to the office with the feeling like it was Christmas.  I was giddy and excited and I couldn't wait to get there.  We had already called Ohio and were on to Pennsylvania (spelled Pennslyvania on our info sheets...oops).  We were told that our calls today would be dictated by exit polls.  I wish I didn't know that because it made me nervous all day...thinking...are things bad in PA?  Why are we calling for so long?  Then it was a rush to make calls to volunteers in Lafayette, Indiana because voters and the campaign needed help.  Yikes!  What's going on there?  I stopped for a moment to see these amazing pictures on the NYT website.  I love the people voting in the general store.  But my break was only so long, for then it was back to PA for a long while, then New Hampshire, Missouri until their polls closed, Colorado until their polls closed, Iowa until their polls closed, and then Nevada until their polls closed.  Finally, we called Alaska.  We were told it was still a close race at that point (500 votes with 2 hours until polls closed).  Really?  Or did the campaign want to let us have a little fun.  It was a bit suspicious when we got call sheets for Wasilla.  

I took the day off work and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to do so.  It was even more amazing that some of my colleagues texted me during the day to thank me for the work I was doing.  Of course, it's the callers who really deserve so much credit for all that's been done in our office.  I've been so thrilled to help facilitate them each night.

In the midst of all these calls, the polls finally started to close at 4pm and we tried to get information.  It was like high school gossiping in the office.  Whispers here and there.  First we heard NH and PA (whew!...I guess the calling worked).  Who knows the order I heard the rest, but I know there Ohio came at some point and then Wisconsin, and then New Mexico (I think some of our callers individually won that state for Obama...we spent about a month calling there every night).  Then we heard about Virginia and we were over 200 electoral votes.  But, I had to pull out my teacher hat and keep the callers on task.  Our job was not over.  The call sheets did not stop.  It was around 7:30pm that we got word that we could stop calling.  No one in the office (more than 100 people) were willing to call the election, but we were celebrating.  We had called so many states that were now blue and you can't help but think about voters you talked to in each state.  The woman in New Mexico who "sounds just like my sister," (a line that actually got me out of the seat and into a training role at the office), a woman in Florida who was so nervous to vote for fear it'd be stolen, and the 87-year old man in Pennsylvania who tried to vote twice today but can't stand up long enough to wait the line (watching our office find a ride for this man and someone to get him to the front of the line was amazing).  You think about those voters who said "Keep up the good work," "Thank you for all your doing," and "We're doing everything we can here to get this guy in the White House."  I still get goosebumps thinking about those conversations.

When I hopped in my car just in time to hear that Obama looked like the winner, I couldn't believe it.  I still can't, really.  I can't remember what it's like to have someone other than Bush as president.  I can't remember what it's like to feel like our president is going to do everything he can for us and the world.

I don't envy our president-elect and the job that lies before him.  But, I am inspired by him.  Now, I am on to figuring out what's next for me and what my role will be in this country.  While I did not spend as much time on this campaign as most, I did catch the community organizing bug to some degree.  More than I've felt in the past two months of teaching, I felt like every day I was doing something truly important and worthwhile with my time.  And I appreciate that Obama reminded us tonight that we have started the way to change and we need to keep working towards it, and I hope to figure out what that is for me.  This is the general consensus in the office.  Everyone is trying to figure out what we can do next.  Thanks for joining me on this journey and I'll keep you posted on where it takes me.  Now, it's time for some sleep (and my apologies if my writing is sloppy...it's just so darn late).