hope

It's a cold day here in Greensboro, but I'm filled with hope that comes with the promise of new beginnings. As we take the day to celebrate Martin Luther King it feels almost prophetic that tomorrow we inaugurate our first African American president. No doubt, he will disappoint us from time to time for some it will be more often than not. I think that's the nature of being the President. People will definitely hate you. It's also the mark of what is truly great about this nation, we have the privilege of hating our president and doing so with gusto.

I'm looking forward to watching the inaugural coverage. The day after the election, one of the nurses gathered our co-workers for a huddle. She wanted us all to share our thoughts, though I'm pretty sure just positive ones, about the election. I'm sure what she did would be frowned upon by hospital administration and although I was certainly celebrating, I was a little uncomfortable too. My anxiety diffused though when I heard some of my co-workers' thoughts. I heard stories of African American men and women waking their children up and calling them to the television..."yes, you can" they said. The magnitude of what it means to see someone who looks like you in such an important position really hit home for me in that moment. I think our days of racism and prejudice are far from over, but I am thankful that my own children will never know a world where black man cannot be president.

I'm looking forward to change.