Once Upon a Time, There Were Some Sleeping Democrats

So I’m coming down from watching the first night of the Democratic National Convention. Newt (the 9-year-old) and I should definitely get an invite in 2016 because we can yell like nobody’s business. We get that from my mother — you should’ve heard her during football games…

Just a few weeks ago, my husband, Tenzin, was talking to a friend of ours who was worrying about Democratic enthusiasm this go-around. Tenzin reassured him that the Dems hadn’t even gotten started yet — that we were just waiting to wake up. Tenzin is a very smart man. All I needed was a little Tammy Duckworth, Deval Patrick, Julian Castro, and Michelle Obama, and I was going all MMA on poor Tenzin, just to prove I could beat the tar out of somebody.

Anyway, in the spirit of getting “in the season,” I thought I’d post my children’s story about volunteering for the Obama campaign. I was told it wasn’t “universal” or “timeless” enough to get published (Although why I listened to this particular book editor I don’t know. I mean, she was wearing light blue mom jeans for the love of god, so how could her overall judgement really have been that good…). It freaks me out to think I wrote this when Newt and Elfie were only 5 and 4.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s My Mama Worked for Obama (it’s more interesting if you imagine it with adorable little pictures on every page…).

My mama worked for Obama. You know — Barack Obama, the President of the United States. But this was a long time ago, before most people even knew his name. Mama says when she’d talk about him back then, people thought he was a new rock band or a weird kind of food. So Mama had her work cut out for her.

Mama was a volunteer for the Obama campaign. That means she did her work for no money because she thought it was so important. Everyday, she told as many people as she could about Barack Obama. Then she asked them to vote for him to be our next president.

Mama worked a lot. Sometimes I was sad because she wasn’t home. Daddy is a better cook, so at least we ate well. But he doesn’t snuggle us the same way Mama does.

Once, when I was feeling sad, I asked Mama why she was working so much. This is what she said:

“Mama works for Obama because our schools need fixing, and he wants to make them better.”

“Mama works for Obama because there are people who are sick, and he wants to make sure someone takes care of them.”

“Mama works for Obama because there are people who don’t have homes to live in or food to eat, and he wants to help them.”

“Mama works for Obama because we aren’t taking care of our water and our air and our planet, and he wants to make sure we do.”

“Mama works for Obama because there are people in the world who are very angry with each other, and he wants us all to get along.”

“Mama works for Obama so you’ll have a better school to go to, and cleaner water to drink, and a more peaceful world to live in.”

“Mama works for Obama…because of you.”

So now that Mama’s work is all done, she says our work has just begun. We give all of the toys I don’t play with and the clothes that don’t fit me to kids who need them. We buy food for people who are hungry. We turn off the lights and the TV when we’re not using them. We only use as much water as we need.

And Mama says one of the most important things I can do to change the world is to respect my teachers and be kind to the other kids at school — especially the ones who feel left out.

Mama says people who love their country can change it. Mama must love the United States, and me, a whole lot.