I want to write this out somewhere so I can look back and remember what today day felt like. The day we found out Trump was not going to be re-elected. When we found out that Biden would be the 46th president. When we found out that Kamala Harris would be the first woman, first Asian, and first Black person to be the Vice President.

The thing is, we weren’t really in suspense. We all sort of called it while the networks were tip-toeing around calling PA or Nevada. But it wasn’t formally announced because a couple of states were still counting votes. I mean, they’re still counting votes as I’m writing this. But it became pretty dang clear this morning that there was no more delaying it.

Anyway, as I said, we were already in high spirits last night because things were lookin’ good. I woke up feeling pretty darn happy. Maybe it was election related. Maybe it was because the baby had a decent night of sleep. Whatever the case, I woke up BEFORE the baby (which legit NEVER happens) so I grabbed my Kindle and cozied up next to him in bed while I read for an hour.

It’s been getting light real early now because of the time change. At 6:30am, I thought it felt like a good time to get up. I decided to push the baby on over to Ankur’s side of the bed and slip out of the house to get some coffee.

It had rained overnight so the trees looked extra green. The clouds were out but the sun was peeping through them. Just the perfect amount of light. Felt like a winter morning in California. After so, SO many months of summer. (Because, yeah, CA has two seasons).

I drove up the hill to Starbucks, walked in, grabbed my mobile order, and then drove over to the park across the street. I parked the car next to the field and sat there, staring up at the clouds while I drank my coffee and listened to a few minutes of Pod Save America. (They, too, called the election result even though it wasn’t technically “done” yet).

Eventually I made my way home and found the baby and Ankur awake. It felt so nice to not have anywhere to be. A Saturday where Ankur didn’t have to work. We lazied around in bed a little before heading downstairs.

Half an hour later or so, the baby was nodding off. So I handed him over to my mama while I went to the garage to help my dad who was having an issue with the car.

I fixed the car problem (because I can Google things and find the answers like a hip millenial), waved goodbye to my dad as he left for work, and then went back inside. Almost immediately after I walked in, I glanced over at the TV and saw that CNN had announced that Biden had won PA and, thus, had won the presidency!

I called my dad to fill him in on the news and you could honestly HEAR him smiling through the phone.

I ran out to the garage to grab a bottle of sparkling cider. It wasn’t cold. But I definitely wasn’t going to wait for it to chill. CELEBRATIONS NEEDED TO HAPPEN STAT. I grabbed some wine glasses from the cabinet, washed them off, popped an ice cube in each glass, and poured nice big pours for us.

We cheers-ed. We called family members. Facebook Portal, FaceTimes, phone calls, texting, WhatsApp groups, Insta stories. You name it, we covered it.

We were all squealing. And teary-eyed. And mostly relieved.

It was my dad’s idea to get Thai food for lunch. (It’s either Thai food or sandwiches with this family of ours, y’know? And we had sandwiches yesterday).

We ate, we watched some more election coverage, we continued to talk to family and friends.

Around 3:30, Ankur and I decided to slip out of the house for some fun baby-free time. I thought it’d be fun to take him to Golden Spoon on PCH. Sissy and I used to go there all the time in high school. Chocolate fro-yo with cookie dough was our go-to order.

But it was closed when we got there. This has happened to us TWICE now! So we decided to drive a little down PCH to the Crystal Cove Shake Shack.

Which ended up being better for us. Ankur likes shakes and is really particular about where he gets them from and he LOVED it. And I guess in the five years we’ve been together, I had never taken him here. So, win-win-win.

And THEN we raced on home to watch Biden and Harris speak. And I cried when our Madam VP spoke about her mama. I cried when Biden came running down the ramp. And I cried during the fireworks show when Biden and Harris and 46 and the United States lit up in the sky.

Tears keep leaking from my eyes. And I feel a whole lot lighter today. Like I’ve been holding my breath for the past four years and I’m finally exhaling. Finally able to breathe again.

Now I’m here.

Typing this up in a dark room while the baby sleeps behind me, the sound machine is on, and my eyes are slowly closing.

This is the best, best, best day I’ve had in so long.

And I want to be able to remember every bit of it when – many years from now – Ishaan asks his mama where she was and what the day was like when she found out Kamala Aunty became VP.

I know this is just the beginning and there is so much more work to be done. But, for right now, in this moment, I’m going to sit back and enjoy it. We’ve been waiting for this for so long. And I’m so happy it’s finally here.

Question of the Day:

Where were you when you found out the news?