Vote!! Vote!!

It's like Christmas only free!

I have to start this voting story with the "getting dressed" process this morning. First I couldn't find my dress... I did laundry all weekend to test out the homemade laundry soap and so all of my laundry is really, really clean. (One load got washed a second time accidentally).

So at 7:40 this morning I am storming through the house in a towel looking for the basket that contained my tye-dye dress. It did occur to me to just wear something else, but that was my lucky dress, my Voting Dress and who knows what might happen if I didn't find it. And also my socks match it. And so it is perfect, and also comfortable and it makes me feel good.

I could use some feel good.

(Sen. Obama will be relieved to know that I found it).

And despite the line it really did feel good to vote. Everyone was in such a jovial mood! On the way in to the church two people stopped me to admire the dress (see!!) and everyone was sort of bouncy and smiley. Everyone said "good morning" to everyone else. In line three people stopped to admire my buttons. (One is from my radio station and it says "I listen, I think, I vote" and the other is from NPR and says "I listen. I vote").

There were people of all ages and races there. And everyone was smiling!! It was like Disney took over (except that I was allowed to vote Democrat). I half expected little birds and bunnies to be milling around waiting for the poll workers to break into song.

I waited for about 20 minutes and then I voted and then I left, sticker by my voting buttons, a sense of calm around me.

I know that I live in a red state.
It's so red that my pitiful little vote is unlikely to make much of a difference at all. But I voted.

I am critical of the Bush administration. I am completely against the war. I think that reproductive rights are just that, rights. Not privileges. I think that standards should be higher in schools, that taxes should be higher on things like cigarettes, alcohol, Oreos, Twinkies and Pop Tarts, that the people running our companies, churches and schools should be held accountable for their actions and that health care should be accessible.

And none of that is likely to be addressed directly in the next 4 years regardless of the outcome of the election.
I know that.
But a baby step forward is better than a baby step backward.

And isn't it wonderful to live in a country where we can openly question and participate in our government!
So go, participate.