I expected to be terrified and unable to speak, but after having the little meet-and-greet right before we started, I found myself amazingly at ease.  He was warm and funny and charming- all of which I expected.  I didn't expect him to be as empathetic and understanding as he was- he really seemed to get what we were talking about, having been raised by a single mother who (at times) had to access food stamps to take care of him and his sister.

I ended up telling my story about my son's birth,when the boarding school where I worked wouldn't allow me to nurse in the dining hall, but required me to take my meals in the dining hall- leaving me in a bit of a pickle.  He responded with a story about one of his aids returning from maternity leave and discovering there was no  place in the entire building where she could pump or nurse comfortably.  He was amazed then that these kinds of adaptations hadn't been made in the 50 years since women became integral parts of the work force.  At the end of the discussion, he came back to my story and remarked that, while there are protections in place to address the kinds of discrimination I faced, most women either don't know about them or don't know how to access them or are afraid to do so- and most businesses either don't take them seriously due to lack of enforcement or just plain don't care- also due to lack of enforcement.

The best part?  I was sitting right next to him and he kept poking me in the arm to make his points.  And he grabbed my elbow at the end.  I may never wash that sweater again.

It was an amazing experience- to stand (and sit) that close to someone who is that close to making history.  I of course saved every newspaper I could find and taped the news.  My 15 minutes of fame are rapidly drawing to a close, but what a ride it was!