After some confusion where the train conductor and the security police had conflicting information about which stop we should use, the delegates were finally directed to exit the train and walk about a mile to the Pepsi Center. Apparently, the closest station to the convention had been shut down for security purposes.

When we finally got to the Pepsi Center, we were greeted by a huge crowd (one woman nearby estimated two thousand) who were all trying to funnel through the single security gate into the convention center. It was a mass of frustrated people all checking their watches as the prime time events were about to unfold. I missed Teddy Kennedy’s appearance and had to catch it on tv later in the evening. I finally made it into the building, wolfed down a not-so-good brat from a vendor in the corridor, and pressed through the unbelievable crowd toward the Kansas delegation’s section of the hall.

I was frustrated. I was disappointed. And then as I walked through the archway and into the convention hall, literally passing right by Governor Sebelius and her staff, all the frustration of the afternoon melted away. I was really and truly a national delegate, really and truly stepping onto the convention floor. This was something I always watched on tv. There were all the state signs, all the crazy donkey hats, all the folks with buttons and placards. The lights, the fanfare. FOX news set up right in front of us. MSNBC to our right. TV anchors’ familiar faces not on a screen, but just a few feet away from us. I immediately dialed my Dad. “I’m on the floor.” I telephoned my oldest daughter, newly away at college. Another emotional moment. I decided I needed to ration the emotional moments, so other phone calls to family and friends from the floor will have to wait for other convention nights.

I sat between Bobby a fellow-1st district delegate, and Matthew one of the 10 18-year old delegates at the convention. We waved our signs. We clapped and cheered. We snapped photos. Michelle Obama’s speech was moving as was seeing her with their daughters on the stage talking to their husband and father on a television screen from Kansas City. Matthew turned to me when her speech was over and said, “She’s amazing.” And she was.

Following the crowd out of the building to our delegate busses, we saw Diane Sawyer and Jim McNeil. And, despite the mass of people, finding our way to the waiting busses proved quite easy. I enjoyed conversing with Kansas Senate Minority Leader Hensley on the way back to the delegation hotel.

By the end of a long day, I was feeling way more up than down, once again feeling incredibly lucky and grateful to be a delegate from Kansas.