Remember your first job? Maybe your second or third? Remember beginning day jitters? You’re thrilled you beat out the competition and scored the hire. Then when you show up for work, the thought crosses your mind, can I really do this? Do I really have what it takes?

Do you think Barack Obama and Michelle Obama feel that way right now? Certainly, voters asked themselves that about Obama while he was on the campaign trail. Now, that he’s elected, every step the Obamas take, every move they make, all eyes are on them. Looking. Wondering. What will they do and how will they do it?

It was well publicized that on Monday, November 10th, the Obamas would cross the great divide between political foes and join the Bushes at the President’s House, the White House, their soon-to-be house. It is tradition for the First Family to welcome the New Family into the fold. We saw the four of them outside the White House. Photos were taken of the two men in the Oval Office but then, everyone else went away and the two sat down for a private meeting, a private chat, perhaps private advice. The same course was followed for the two women as they went on a private tour of the inner sanctum of the People’s House.

Can you imagine what all four were thinking? The Bushes–that their days at the Big House are numbered, that their legacy is nearly history, and that their burden of leadership is waning by the hour. The Obamas–that their days at the Big House are just beginning, that their legacy is yet to be written, and that their burden of leadership is growing by the minute.

We always believed as we sought our new job and landed it, that confidence was nine/tenths the battle. It takes confidence to convince others we are worth the risk. It takes Monday jitters to convince ourselves we are ready for the challenge. And now it begins…