Hanging out with Michelle Obama

I kept debating this morning whether or not I should go see Michelle Obama speak at a local high school. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to go with me, and I kept thinking it would be right around dinner time, and I should be here to feed Inara. But another little voice in my head kept saying, "Marisa, how many times in your life may you get this chance? You already missed out on the DNC. Don't miss this opportunity." So I asked Barb to watch Inara, and I went. I was a bit scared when I got there because there was a HUGE line waiting to get in. I couldn't find a place to park the place was so packed, but I didn't let this deter me. Heck, I had already driven 25 minutes. Once in line, I was worried that I might not get in because there were already so many people in front of me. My worries didn't fail me. I didn't get in the auditorium. Instead, I went to the overflow area where they had speakers set up so we could still hear her speech. A woman I met in line said Michelle and Barack always come speak to the overflow areas at the rallies. She was correct. Out comes Michelle Obama. She said a few words to all of us who couldn't get in and then she came over to the railing and started shaking people's hands. I was close enough that I got to shake her hand. I was super excited. I could have just shaken the next first lady's hand. How cool is that. Then all 400 of us in the overflow area stuck around in the cold and listened to her speech, cheered her on, and got a little more pumped for tomorrow's election. One of the best parts of this whole experience though was looking around at all the people standing there, enthused by Michelle's words, but more importantly, exercising their right. It's times like these that make me so proud to be an American and privileged to know that we have this amazing right to vote. It's something many take for granted, and we should never do so.