An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama,

I am writing to thank you.

My husband and I have two children (ages 13 and 8). We are very fortunate. We have always had a roof over our heads and enough to eat. Like most parents, We hope to provide our children with all of the best aspects of our childhoods and more. I am very aware that this is not something we can do on our own. Fortunately, we have not had to.

Family and friends have exposed our children to the music, dance, and creativity of many different cultures; they have helped foster our children’s love of reading by sharing their favorite stories with them; and have helped them learn about respecting and celebrating differences among members of our community.

Our children have had a rich childhood. They have swum in the ocean and fallen asleep while looking up at a night sky filled with stars. They have eaten foods I had never even heard of before I was an adult. They have skied down a mountain in winter and hiked that same mountain in the summer. Their lives are good. Very good.

One of the less tangible things that has been a part of our children’s lives, that was not a part of mine at their ages, is a sense of national pride. My first president of memory was Richard Nixon. Theirs is you. They are growing up with a president they can respect and admire.

Because of you they can meet people from other countries and not feel as if they need to apologize for being Americans.

Because of you they have hope that the land our country is built on will be there for them and their children.

Because of you they believe in a world of possibilities.

Before your inauguration our daughter, then four, saw you on the news. You were painting at a community center during the National Day of Service. After the inauguration, when you appeared again in the news, we pointed you out to her. ‘Look! That man is our new president.’ ‘Wow!’, she said, ‘And he used to be a painter.’