political aspirations

liam reads the newspaper every morning as he eats his breakfast with chris. we have learned to hide the more hard-hitting sections, since there's usually very little in them that's appropriate for a four-year old, but he does love the sports and weather. he then reports to me the forecast, sounding like a mini meteorologist: "mommy, the afternoon high is 56 degrees. it will be partly cloudy today." it's actually quite helpful as i decide what we all will wear. today, however, there was no weather report. instead, he came bounding upstairs, bursting with excitement. "i saw him, mommy! he was in the paper!" "who?" i asked, thinking it must have been a blown-up picture of charlie brown or some athlete whose name i don't know. "the president!" he said, breathlessly. "obama!" i love the fact that my preschooler not only can recognize the president from his picture, but also knows his name. (it helps that "obama" rolls off the tongue of a small child; it's easy to say.) we had watched part of the inauguration on tuesday morning after we returned from sledding and shed our snowy clothes. the kids curled up in their new chairs with cups of hot chocolate (see picture), and witnessed history in the making. we talked about how anything is possible in this country. which brings me to my final aspect of this morning's story. after liam had shared his obama sighting, he asked, "do you think i can marry his daughter?" hmm. a little boy from north carolina with a republican stay-at-home mom, and a daughter of one of the most powerful men on earth. if the distance between raleigh and d.c. weren't a factor, age certainly could be, as they're both at least three years his senior. (i'm not sure if he has his sights on sasha or malia, since he's smitten with both.) but no matter. "sure," i replied, "but you'll have to wait until you're a little older." for as obama has taught us, in this country, anything is possible.