I was always envious of those folks who appeared to dare to have such staggering amounts of hope when Kennedy was elected. I NEVER thought there would be reason for that hope to appear again.

But, right now, having heard my new President speak to me, not down to me, not over me, not scaring me, not coercing me...I'm sitting here sobbing out years and years of hopelessness, pain and rage and I, too, am daring to feel hopeful. Sure, once those floodgates open, there's not much discrimination - hurt is hurt and like so many, I carry my share from a life of simply being human.

Hope, to me, has always been a sucker's bet. The fastest way to yet another crushing disappointment, yet another punch to the soul's throat, is to be stupid, naive and careless enough to presume that things might be okay. In lieu of shouldering that precarious burden, I swallowed hard and built a callous of cynicism. It's been better to abandon hope than risk making old wounds worse.

So, I'm deciding to take the risk of being hopeful. Even if it all goes sideways with the Obama administration, I have no sense of malice, impropriety, or a smirking front man for a select few, corpulent from a life of gorging on the flesh, blood and trust of the people. I think Obama is going to try to do good things. I need to see leadership choosing to do good things. I need my daughter to see it. I need her to feel the resonant proof of positive intent, on the global scale, even if the aspirations ultimately prove implausible in retrospect.

I need her to see her father have hope. I'm so grateful.

I'm so hopeful.