Dear President-Elect Obama,

Congratulations on becoming the next leader of the free world. You have inspired hope in so many, including myself. Thank you.

In your acceptance speech, you asked us to "summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other." I know that you are being asked to do a lot of things, to be a miracle worker. We all need to work hard with you to see the change we are so desperately hoping for. I realize you are one person, but so am I, so is my husband, my brother, my neighbor, my friend. If we all work together, as we did to bring about this historic presidency, we will see change. 

With this in mind, with the hope I feel in my heart, and the belief I have in transformation through hard work and reflection, I pledge to:

• continue loving, supporting, and nurturing my children- helping them with their homework, teaching them lessons when they need it, reading them bedtime stories- in essence, to be completely involved in their lives.
• when budget and availability allow, buy locally and/or organically, and always purchase consciously.
• become a community organizer of sorts, no matter how small the task. 
• continue to be involved in my eldest son's elementary school.
• continue to fight for equitable practices in public schools- this means I will continue to question our assessment system, our modes of instruction, and NCLB in general. 
• complete my Masters in Education in a timely manner so that I can get to the real work of changing our educational system. 
• work harder than I have before for the children of Richmond, California, so that they, too, will be prepared for the everchanging world we live in.  

I know you have a lot on your plate, but there are some things I think you need to work on sooner rather than later. Please consider:

• the educational system
• the healthcare system
• the economy
• Darfur, the Congo, Tibet

Again, thank you. I have an amazing amount of faith in you and the American people. As you said on Tuesday night:

"...out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can."

God bless you, President-Elect Obama and God bless the entire world, no exceptions.

Sincerely,

Laurie