We were in a room at the Turkey Run State Park lodge when Obama gave his "race" speech late one night. Both K1 and K2 seemed to "get" that they were witnessing something important - not sure if it was something they got themselves or something they picked up from us - but to me it doesn't really matter.  I am sure that many of our kids will long remember the night when "their candidate" won the presidency.

The last few years of the campaign have been interesting.....it let us talk with the kids about things we valued and why. What things?

- Inclusion versus divisiveness (who are they referring to when they talk about "real Americans"?)

- Entertaining multiple perspectives and listening to alternative proposals versus a "one-way" ideology

- that patriotism sometimes requires criticism and feelings of ambivalence or discomfort and not just blind adherence to "feel good" slogans and symbols

- that information and knowledge should not be feared but embraced

- that using your brain and being a critical thinker should be valued rather than denigrated

We could all probably list more.....