The campaign was finally over. In our house when things get tough the tough go shopping. So off we went, I had a shopping consultant and Tony had his new camera to play with. This image is a building in Reston, Virginia. He's an artist that creates images from the interesting things he sees.

Yesterday Tony told someone that I was now posting once a year and he was right. It got me going and I've decided to write about my experience as an NTL with the Organizing for America campaign. NTL stands for Neighborhood Team Leader. So what exactly does that mean? I was talking with my friend Harriet who's also an NTL and we both laughed and agreed it's a lot of things.

For me a big part of it is leading by example. Before I could ask anyone else to volunteer, to knock on a door, to make call or to register a voter I had to learn how to do all these things. It did not take long and I did it a lot. In a former life, I had been a chorus girl on Broadway and I was not shy.

The more I did it the more I realized it was easy and very powerful. When an ordinary citizen talks to another ordinary citizen the results can be amazing. My heart is filled with the hundreds and hundreds of thank you I got. They thanked me for registering them, the thanked me for knocking on their door, they thanked me for speaking with them on the phone. Even the people who did not agree with me thanked me. If you watch TV (which I don't), you're bombarded day and night by the so called news. People welcomed the chance to talk to another person who cared about what they thought and was willing to listen. This is how we won this election. People talking to other people. So simple and so powerful. There were over a million people like me doing this work. My husband Tony, my son Scott, my daughter-in law Cathy and my dear wonderful brother Arnold did it with me.

I live 10 miles from the Manassas National Battlefield. It is a place where the north and south came together and killed each other by the thousands and thousands. It is still a place where the north meets the south. People around here don't talk politics with their neighbors. So when as a Neighborhood Team Leader I started to ask people to volunteer they were hesitant and even a little fearful. But little by little I led by example. I took them with me to register voters, I took them with me when I canvassed, I made the first phone call at the phone bank so they could hear how it sounded.

And in the end we did what the President asked us to do at all the rallies. I remember him saying help me Virginia, make those calls, knock on those doors and we did.

Life presented me which an incredible opportunity which I took. An opportunity that helped me grow as a person, that taught me new skills and most importantly allowed me to make a difference in this world. I SHALL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL.