Stahlke Adoption

The Obama Flag

Kola arrived in the U.S. in early October, and his first weeks here were filled with election ads on TV, election discussion around the supper table, and election assignments at school. In addition, the excitement in Chicago was palpable, especially during Obama's acceptance speech in Grant Park. Kola has no idea that "Obama" is an unusual and historic name.

My sister Anne and her children visited us during the long weekend of the inauguration. She works on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and her offices and her children's daycare center closed for the inauguration. Kola invited his two young cousins to watch the inauguration with him in the cafeteria of his elementary school. The entire student body waited expectantly as the large TV screen displayed various dignitaries entering the stage on the U.S. Capitol steps. After what seemed like an eternity, Obama himself finally appeared. The children watching the television erupted in shouts and applause, and two African-American boys leaped proudly to their feet. Anne told me later that it brought tears to her eyes. The TV camera moved from Obama to the immense crowd on the Mall, who were also cheering wildly. What an experience! I wondered what Obama himself felt at that moment.

The election and inauguration events were draped in images of the U.S. flag, and Kola now refers to any U.S. flag he sees as an "Obama flag." He also knows that Obama lives in the main city of the U.S., just as President Viktor Yushchenko lives in Ukraine's capitol city Kyiv. When Kola asks us where his Aunt Anne and her family live, we tell him "Obama's city."

This morning at 3:00 am, Jonathan drove Paul, Adam, and their fellow classmates to O'Hare Airport for an early flight to Washington, D.C. The seventh and eighth graders at Grace are touring our capitol as their capstone field trip. Kola asked at breakfast how many nights his brothers would be away. (Time is measured in sleeping units!) He then asked me:

Kola: "Mama, where are Paul and Adam going?"
Mama: "Washington, D.C."
Kola: "Oh, they'll see Anne and Obama!"

posted by Stahlkes @ 2:36 PM