I Bid You...Godspeed

I'm taking a little break from mommy talk to give my two cents about a couple I feel is such a wonderful role model to me, my kids, my community, and the world as a whole. I'm talking about Mr. Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States, first African-American president, community leader, husband, and father, and his extraordinary wife Michelle.

It might be wishful thinking on my part that one day, while they are relaxing by the beach enjoying retirement, they would stumble upon this article and know how much they mean to me and many others I know.

My Letter To The Obamas:

During the 2004 election season, my hubby told me about this guy from Chicago who was running for Senator, and that he was from Kenya...interest piqued!! Who was this man from my motherland running for U.S. Senate? Of course I later came to find out it was your father who was Kenyan, but that didn't change a thing. I was hooked.

I watched you give the keynote address during the DNC that year and I almost burnt dinner watching you speak, and how everyone hang on every word of your speech about hope, and how there were no liberal or conservative states, only the United States...I mean damn!! You rocked that stage, and it was right then when my hubby and I looked at each other and said, "...this guy is gonna run for president one day."

November 4th 2008 was probably one of the most amazing days in a lot of people's lives, and I for one was in complete awe of how you mobilized a nation through your grassroots movement, and gave people the sense that hope and change were possible after many had lost faith in the political system. I watched you walk out onto the podium with your beautiful family and give your acceptance speech, and knew then that my son...who has the same paternal heritage as you...would always have another great male role model, who looks just like him, to look up to.

Fast forward to your 2013 inauguration. Hubby and I were not going to miss this one. We drove to DC and braved the cold, the energy was sooo palpable, cold temperatures were the least of our worries. A sea of people for miles, all there to celebrate you and your 2nd term, every color, age, gender, religion, all unified and filled with renewed hope for the next four years.

Unfortunately, this journey wasn't without strife and obstacles, degradation and name calling (we all recall the "You lie!" incident), obstruction, and just downright hatred. But oh! Mr. Pres...you held your own! You rose above all the shenanigans and fought for the people, like any good public servant should. Your dignity, and grace under pressure was, and still is waaaay more than admirable, when most would have reacted like your 'angry translator Luther'..hahaha! I always used to tell hubby that for every 1 person that spewed hate about you and wished you ill, there were three who prayed for your safety, wisdom, and patience to deal with all the negativity. Your eloquence and, dare I say, swag, made the country (Ok...a good majority of the country) proud to have you as their global representative. You showed us your heart every time you hugged your daughters, or kissed Michelle, when you cried for the kids in Sandy Hook, and sang Amazing Grace at the church in South Carolina. With each such moment, you became even more relatable to us, in those moments you were not just the POTUS, but a spouse, a father, a friend.

So as you leave the White House (four more years!..I know...I'm pushing it..lol! but a girl can...Hope...wink! wink!) and retire somewhere warm, know that you will be terribly missed by a great majority of people. We will miss your sense of humor, your ability to not take yourself so seriously, your passion, your strength amidst the storm of negativity, and in spite of all that, your continued belief in the good of the American people.

And as they make a futile attempt to erase your legacy, there are some things that they cannot take away from you: The fact that you are the first African American president, that you passed the ever elusive Healthcare Reform bill, bailing out the auto and banking industries, marriage equality was made possible in your term, to quote your words.."..the mastermind of 9/11" was taken down in your term, unemployment went down from double digits to about 4.7% currently....I could go on and on..but I will let history authors take care of that. However, most important to me, as a mother, is when my 9 year old son came to me with doubts about himself because of the color of his skin; we talked about different people of color who have achieved great things in history, and recent past. Then we talked about you, and how the POTUS has the same skin color he does, and if Barack Obama can be president, why can't you? Don't let the color of your skin stop you from being confident and proud of who you are son, and from being ANYTHING you want to be: even president! Now that is a legacy.

Ms. Michelle, girl you are one aahhmazing FLOTUS!! Like your hubby said, you took on this role and made it your own. You inspired us to get our kids to eat healthier and be more active, to be happy and confident in who we are as women, especially women of color. You continuously instilled in us the importance of education, and reminded us to honor our veterans and their families. Not to mention, inspired us to work on getting those famous 'Michelle Obama arms'..(side note: This is on my bucket list...lol!). Like Barack, you also became the target of vicious bigoted name calling, and were shown downright disrespect as the first lady. However, you handled it with integrity and epitomized your words throughout this whole term: "When they go low, you go high".

We will definitely miss your wisdom and eloquence, your amazing sense of style, and just your down-to-earth, funny, no-nonsense momma attitude. Our daughters now have another awesome role model to show them that girls can kick 'you know what' when they put their minds to it, by getting a good education, being confident in who they are, and treating everyone with fairness and respect.

I thank you both for making the last eight years extraordinary! For elevating the office of the president, and first lady to a whole new level, and setting the bar so high. I hope you leave with your heads held high knowing that you have both made a difference, not only in the country through policies, but in individual households, and across the globe. Many may opt to disagree and that's okay; we're all entitled to our opinions, after all, that's what makes us who we are.

Enjoy your much needed rest, play some rounds of golf, and just sleep in. Just don't be away for too long because we can't wait to see where the next chapter of your lives takes you.

God bless you all, and thank you!

PS: Mr. Obama....your mom and grandparents would be so incredibly proud of you!