Hope lives again

Wow! President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm sitting here in shock because I don't think anyone expected this. But this does touch my cynical heart. While I tell my children all the time that if they work hard enough, they can accomplish anything, truth be told, I don't really believe that. There are so many obstacles that are out of your control, that sometimes, it takes more than hard work. It takes luck. And money. Neither of which seem to be abundant in my life. I'm not whining about it, since I do have riches in other areas that matter. The way things are, it seems to me that there isn't much hope for them, even if they work hard.

President Obama has given me back that glimmer of hope, that yea, if you work hard, even coming from poverty, you can do anything. We don't live in poverty, but we do live paycheck to paycheck. And there isn't a lot of money for extras. Usually, this can bog me down. Seeing the President win the Nobel Prize, while he has so many detractors and so many critics makes me feel like you can persevere. The fact is, he came from nothing and look where his hard work has taken him. I have hope again, that the little boy in the bedroom across the hall can make his dreams come true. The little girl in the room next to his can as well. I can help them affect change. I believe this again. It's actually a nice feeling.

I can't wait until the kids wake up to tell them.