As the wife of a black man I have always known his existence is fundamentally different from mine because of the manner in which the world regards him. He has shared many things with me and I have observed them as well. I myself have occasionally been treated differently based on who I love.
I clearly remember the day Obama was elected president not just because it was a monumental step forward, but it was also personally relevant. There are so many different hopes and dreams you have for your children. The dreams begin long before birth and even before conception. Until that day no child of color could ever hear the words, "One day you could be president" and know it to be true.
Watching the speech I knew the world was changing for the better. I shed tears of joy that night. New things were possible for me and for everyone. Most importantly for the first time in my life I actually thought about having a child and that shift forever changed me.
When I was pregnant I considered what my dream would be for my son. Happiness of course, but this is a dream and a dream should be big and I remembered the night of the election and the enormity of how I felt in that moment. I thought about the day he will ask me what he should be when he grows up. I can earnestly look him in the eye and tell him he can be whatever he wants to be. He could even be president.
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