The morning of the speech we left early because we knew there were going to be 70,000 people attending and we wanted to stay out of lines as much as possible (yea right). I went with two of my cousins (one happens to be my baby sitter as well) and Eva’s daddy. The only lines we really had to wait in was while we waited for the gates to open. We were so early that security was quick and when we got into the stadium it was empty! (Even though it was empty, I still managed to literally run right into the 9 News team). We had a great time roaming the stadium and checking out all the shwag. We figured that we already looked silly enough wearing our bright yellow-orange T-shirts that we might as well get every button, sticker, hat, etc. that we could find. I think I did pretty good, and had plenty of “flare”!

As the day wore on, the stadium really started to fill up. It was exciting to see all the smiles on people’s faces. I heard rumors of people waiting in line for 4 hours to get in, but I didn’t hear one person complain (of course I waited a total of 30 minutes!). The vibe of the entire stadium was of pure excitement. I noticed that people were chatting with their neighbors as if they were long, lost friends. It was amazing to see the entire crowd rooting for the same team. Normally, at a football game, most of the fans are for one team or the other. And when your team is losing, the crowd gets crazy… yelling, drunkenness, rudeness, etc. Not here. Not now! There was a buzz in the air. People were laughing, smiling, dancing, clapping, cheering and helping one another. For example, at one point in the day we came back to our seats with our arms full of food. The guy behind us reached forward and pulled our seats down so we could sit. I guarantee that wouldn’t happen at a Bronco’s game!

Favorite shirt of the day: “Burritos for Obama” from Qdoba

Favorite sign of the day: “Obamalicious Bar-B-Que Sandwiches”

Throughout the day, there were bands playing, and speakers talking about why they were voting for Barack Obama. It was fun to see Stevie Wonder, Al Gore, and all the real people who came out to speak. I got goosebumps many times during the day for different reasons. It was just such a feeling of excitement. And not like the excitement you get before you go to a concert, or before you get a book signed by an incredible woman (yay Hillary!). It was different. It was the feeling that all the crap that we’ve been dealing with for 8 very long years is about to come to an end.

Obama didn’t come on stage until around 8pm that night, but hanging out with family and being a part of that amazing crowd for over 8 hours was worth it! It was a night that I will never forget and I’m grateful to have had the chance to attend such a historic event.

I have been trying to write this post for almost 2 weeks now. Every time I sit down at the computer to try to put my experience into words, I come up blank! The other day I realized that the reason this has been so difficult to write is that I have wanted to keep the experience to myself. It was such an amazing day, that I didn’t really want to share it with the rest of the world. The entire day moved me. But I realized it was time to open myself up.

Also, this is post is about my experience that day. I didn’t want to give a play by play of the day, plenty of other bloggers and reporters have already covered that.

Tonight I worked for about 4 hours making signs for the convention at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Initially I did it because I was told that if I helped make signs I would get a ticket to see Barack’s acceptance speech next week (Woot!!). When I first got there, I wasn’t prepared for the amount of people who were busily working. Staple… staple… staple! Chatter… chatter… chatter! There was an actual buzz in the room. Everyone seemed to have a job, and they were quite happy doing it.

I jumped right into the humming of the room and got to work. My job: fill trash bags with 25 signs each, then tie the bag, and finally add a yellow sticker to either side. Done. Then start all over again! At first I was a bit shy because it seemed that everyone else already had their place… their role in the system. I’m not very good at being a newbie, I like to be a part of it and become an expert! Luckily the task at hand wasn’t too daunting . In no time I was moving around the room, gathering up signs and trying my best to not lose count.

I imagine that everyone was there for different reasons. Some were volunteering because they wanted to be a part of something great. Others were there because the Union was paying $10/hour (they also provided food… well Taco Bell if you call that food). Many were talking about all the different things going on this weekend and upcoming week. And there were at least 3-4 different languages being spoken!

As I moved on to my next job of stapling two posters together (one side said “Obama” the other read “Unity”), I realized that I was a part of something greater. My simple task of staple, staple, staple, flip(!) was going to mean something to the 70,000 people who will be attending the acceptance speech as well as the thousands watching on TV. These very simple signs, mean Hope and Change for many Americans.

Those two words kept ringing in my ears as I worked away. I started to wonder what the world will be like when Eva is 5 years old… how about 15… what about 35? There’s no doubt that the world will have changed by then, but will this time right now, right here, actually make a change for the positive? Can Barack Obama be the change that I am hoping for? Will his presidency impact Eva’s future? Or am I hoping for too much?

Following are a couple of my favorite YouTube! Videos:

Barack Obama – Reggaeton Style

Flobots – Rise

The Flobots are a local band that has recently hit the national and even international scene. I love the message in this song. It makes me want to get up off my butt and do something!

Take a press tour of Invesco Field at Mile High where Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for the Presidency.