Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/books/thanksandhavefunrunningthecountry/

Dear Obama family,

When you move into the White House, turn on the heater so it won’t be cold. You could also take hot baths in your new antique bathtubs. Or you could make hot tea and coffee. When I moved to a new house, I helped my dad. He took apart a chair and I carried pieces of it. If I were your helper when you move in, I could move everything! Have a nice day being the first family.

Nazrawit Dessie, age 7

Finally | dooce®

http://dooce.com/daily-photo/2009/01/20/finally

Me: “Leta, today is a very important day.”
Leta: “But why?”
Me: “Because we’re getting a new president.”
Leta: “What kind of new president?!”
Me: “His name is Barack Obama.”
Leta: “… what did you say?”
Me: “BARACK OBAMA.”
Leta: “That is a really silly name, Mom.”

I’ve been posting most of my inappropriate feelings towards Obama on my twitter, but I thought this conversation from Dooce was a pretty accurate summary of what trying to explain the gravity of this event to our preschooler and kindergardener has been like. There’s a few moments of intensely concentrated silence, and then one of them asks for a popsicle.