The Obama Mamas

I stole the title of this blog from Brian, Mary's husband, who texted her from his board retreat to ask how the "Obama mamas" were doing at the political rally. He's a witty one, that Brian!

Yesterday 3 girlfriends and I all piled into Mary's Vibe and headed north to Manchester, NH to hear Barack Obama speak. It was an early morning, especially considering the fact that we had been together the evening before- drinking wine, eating yummy Chinese food and making beaded goddess ornaments. After a stop at the drive-through Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and several powdered munchkins (for Chelle) we were awake, chatty and on our way.

We made it up to Manchester by 9 with Chelle navigating and Mary at the wheel, all while we were carrying on various conversations. Not an easy task! The car was parked safely in the garage and we set off to find the end of the line of people who were waiting to be screened and let into the area where Obama was to speak. It was exciting to be part of something where everyone was enthusiastic! The line stretched around 3 sides of a large city block, yet people were all cheerful, friendly and talkative, despite the heat and sun. No shoving, pushing or justling for position. There were various vendors selling $5 buttons and $10 tshirts, all promoting Obama.

We finally made it through the bag screen and metal detectors and worked out way into the crowd. We found a good place to take in the speakers: the opener was a minister who was then followed by a veteran, a campaign volunteer and then a couple other people I don't remember. (Mary and I had to take a bathroom break and the line at the porta-potties was long)

Finally Obama came out and spoke for about 35 minutes. He was a bit subdued in the beginning but then seemed to find his stride and got more energized and fired up. He did some McCain/Palin bashing as well as compared their stances on various issues. The crowd was very enthusiastic, clapping and cheering regularly. It was warm, standing in a tightly packed crowd with the sun alternating with clouds, I could feel the sweat trickling down my back, but the speach was good enough that it kept my mind off the discomfort. It was exciting to be amongst so many other like-minded people who all want the same thing: a change in our government to one that actually represents the people.

After the rally was over we walked around downtown Manchester and found a nice barbecue place to have lunch. Surprisingly, many of the restaurants were closed, appearing to be open only during the week. We were happy with our lunch choice, however, and everyone enjoyed their barbecue; we left stuffed and happy.

The ride home was just as wonderful as the rest of the day. I am so blessed to have such supportive, caring and honest friends. Its quite something to feel so comfortable with a group (especally for me- never have i been a group person!): friends who you know will be honest with you, challenge you and will give you their opinions in a loving and supportive way. I don't know what I'd do without this group of women friends.

The Obama rally was a great experience, however, the highlight of the day was truly the time with these extaordinary women.