Big Week

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not even going to pretend I understand how significant this upcoming week will be. For starters, tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Second, Tuesday will be the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th President -- A historic event for sure. But with everything that has happened in my life and Abby's this past year, both events mean even more to us. With us adopting from Ethiopia (hopefully in 2009) the significance of Barack becoming the first President in America to be non-white takes on a whole new meaning. I remember growing up and Pops telling me I could be anything I wanted to be, do anything I wanted to do. Granted, our child can't technically become President of the United States when they get older because they weren't born in the USA, but for the first time it won't be because of the color of their skin. And the way things are going and changing, in a positive way, who knows how long before the "Natural Born Citizen" part of becoming President is no longer relevant. Tuesday just makes it easier for me to tell my child they can become anything they want -- which is an amazing thing to be able to tell your kid.

Being a white male who has grown up in the Midwest, there is no way for me to understand all of the hurdles, issues, and difficulties other races have had to endure in our country. But I feel like I owe it to my son and/or daughter to better understand the history of African-Americans. For years I've just seen "MLK" on my calendar on the third Monday of each January and moved on. This year I have taken it upon myself to try and understand what exactly Martin Luther King Jr. did -- for all races and for our country. I have just scratched the surface on research, and I'm already overwhelmed. It's hard to believe that a child in Africa is already teaching me more about my country. Reminds me of a great quote a friend shared with me: Africa does more for me than I can possibly do for Africa.

As for Barack and the inauguration on Tuesday, I'm very excited for the many opportunities and experiences it will open to my future child. Anyone that knows me knows there is one thing I can't stand to talk about: POLITICS. It's a secret ballot. However, it really doesn't matter who you voted for (or against). On Tuesday Barack will become our President, and as our pastor said this morning, "It is our duty to pray for our President." I pray that he has the wisdom he needs to lead our country -- and I pray that he becomes a great role model for future generations.

Yes, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to write. I'm horrible at talking politics. I'm horrible at talking race. I'm horrible at talking about things I'm uncomfortable talking about. So thanks for taking the time to read this. I still haven't put down exactly what I'm wanting to put down -- 'cause I haven't found the words to express myself fully. All I know is that the next two days are very important. And they have become even more important to me because of an amazing child 7,990 miles away.