Two minutes after eleven on Nov. 4th I watched history being made. I have spent the last few weeks organizing a rally to support Obama — away from my rabid republican father and his siblings.

I felt invested in this victory and stunned by its reality. We have made history.

My daughter called from Manhattenville College to see if I was crying too. I called my son and my husband called his sister in Venezuela. We reached out to share the victory with those we love, even as we tuned into our televisions to share it with the world.

This night we will remember: Barack Obama had just been elected the first African American President of the United States.

The United States of America declared we as a nation still believed in the “American Dream.”

Barack inspired record numbers of citizens to participate in their government and use the most powerful weapon we as a democratic nation possess — our vote. Tonight we have reclaimed our country and demanded change.

The eloquent concession speech from John McCain allowed us to finally see the depth of his character. I wondered if he had spoken like that over the last few months would the outcome have been different. Did he allow others to highjack his campaign? This is the man that we heard about but rarely saw.

I was thrilled to see Palin leave defeated, but somehow I don’t believe that we’ve heard the last from her. I’m afraid she will be like a reoccurring nightmare. Just when you’re happily away dreaming she disturbs you.

Maybe that’s just what she did, woke us out of our apathy and scared us into action.

I wonder if the good old boys will place the blame on her or man up and accept defeat with the grace of John McCain.

What a night! Barack’s acceptance speech will go down in history as one of the greats, right next to King’s “I have a Dream.”

To have witnessed his triumph and to know that by casting that vote we share his victory. With the race barrier broken can the gender barrier fall next?

Catherine Biden’s 90 year-old eyes glowed with pride right through the TV screen straight to our hearts. As a nation we all wished that Barack’s grandmother could have lived just a few more days.

The memory of this night I will add to some others I have shared with the world:

John Glen walked on the moon, Nixon resigned, Elvis died, Ronald Reagan was shot, the “wall” came down, John Lennon was assassinated, Chernobyl, and the first invasion of Iraq.

And also a few we shared together; 9/11, invading Afghanistan, the second invasion of Iraq, Katrina, and the Wall Street bailout.

The events of history mark each generation. Often with tragedy so when one brings hope, cherish it. Someday tell your children you helped make history by casting one vote.

Now that you know strength of your vote, use it to lay claim to your future.