11/8/2016

Today is Election Day.

The past year (or longer) has been spent watching politicians throw muck at each other, spewing hate from their mouths, generally causing anxiety and pandemonium throughout the country.  I think everyone is ready for this election cycle to BE OVER ALREADY.  And today is the day it all ends.  (We hope.)  Today is a sigh of relief.

But even with all the garbage going on with the presidential election, I can't help getting a little teary eyed on Election Day (and not because I am grieved by the choices we've made to get us here).  Today we have the opportunity to exercise our right to vote.  Every citizen is allowed to head to the polls, cast their ballot, and have a say in who governs them.  Even when it's on a national level and your vote seems like a drop in the ocean, you get to cast your vote.  More especially on a local level, you have a say in how things are run.  Today we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, we get to come together as different people with different ideals and be Americans.  It's beautiful, really.

This morning, after the school bus pulled away, I grabbed my umbrella and walked through the light drizzle over to the Hilton Garden Inn (yes, we vote in a hotel).  On my walk I thought about suffragettes and the Revolutionary War and my forefathers and my sweet grandfather manning the polls every year and my wonderful, wonderful country.  I followed the red arrows, waited a few minutes in line, got my ballot, and voted.

So yes, I'm glad this election is almost over, and I worry quite a bit about the direction our future leadership might take us, but today I am filled with patriotism, because today I voted.