Election day
Today is an important day in history. I feel a buzz in the air.
I waited in line this morning for about an hour and made my vote before going to work. Our voting location was a nursing home and as I walked up, the line was out the door, down the drive and to the sidewalk. The line was long, but people were in good spirits. A girl on her bicyle yelled, "Yea, voters!" as she pedaled by. There was a four-year-old boy in front of me waiting in line with his dad. He provided entertainment for those of us in line--at first sitting on his dad's shoulders with his Thomas the Tank Engine backpack, then later eating Oreos and singing his ABC's. "We're voting for President Obama," he said.
Coffee, orange juice and donuts were provided once the line made it inside--a reward for making it this far. Once in the booth, it only took a matter of seconds to make my decisions. I paused and took a deep breath before hitting the final green "vote" button. Empowerment! I even felt an extra skip in my step as I walked to work this morning. I'm wearing my Obama t-shirt today with a couple of buttons and a sticker. I feel the extra eyes as I walk down the sidewalk, but I'm mostly just greeted with smiles. I wish I had asked for the day off.
Tonight, I will watch the election results in the company of friends. In 2004, Tim and I were at Kerry's rally in Boston on election night. As the final few undecided states came in, the atmosphere changed. We took the last train home to Providence and by the time we arrived, the news anchors confirmed the bad news--the news that Bush had been re-elected. I cried.
I'm hoping that tonight is a very different election night. For the first time in my young voting life, I support a candidate that has me excited about politics and hopeful for the future. Go Obama. Go American voters. Make us proud.
I waited in line this morning for about an hour and made my vote before going to work. Our voting location was a nursing home and as I walked up, the line was out the door, down the drive and to the sidewalk. The line was long, but people were in good spirits. A girl on her bicyle yelled, "Yea, voters!" as she pedaled by. There was a four-year-old boy in front of me waiting in line with his dad. He provided entertainment for those of us in line--at first sitting on his dad's shoulders with his Thomas the Tank Engine backpack, then later eating Oreos and singing his ABC's. "We're voting for President Obama," he said.
Coffee, orange juice and donuts were provided once the line made it inside--a reward for making it this far. Once in the booth, it only took a matter of seconds to make my decisions. I paused and took a deep breath before hitting the final green "vote" button. Empowerment! I even felt an extra skip in my step as I walked to work this morning. I'm wearing my Obama t-shirt today with a couple of buttons and a sticker. I feel the extra eyes as I walk down the sidewalk, but I'm mostly just greeted with smiles. I wish I had asked for the day off.
Tonight, I will watch the election results in the company of friends. In 2004, Tim and I were at Kerry's rally in Boston on election night. As the final few undecided states came in, the atmosphere changed. We took the last train home to Providence and by the time we arrived, the news anchors confirmed the bad news--the news that Bush had been re-elected. I cried.
I'm hoping that tonight is a very different election night. For the first time in my young voting life, I support a candidate that has me excited about politics and hopeful for the future. Go Obama. Go American voters. Make us proud.