The Voting Experience

It's official. I'm done voting, at least until the next election.

I was dreading the process all day. I wasn't looking forward to waiting in the long lines with the kids and was looking less forward to getting up early to vote. I voted for option A. After a day full of errands and a stop at Chuck E Cheese, we ended up at the polls.

There was NO line and ZERO wait. There are definite perks to living in such a small city...this is one of them!

The boys loved going in with me. I was able to use it as a teaching opportunity as well. They had lots of questions and loved to watch everything. Sammy got to carry the ballot and help push it in the box. Max, Owen and Sam were all content to get stickers.

Sammy had lots of questions about who was on the ballot and what all the spaces meant. Owen just looked at the picture of the cat on my phone....he was less than interested in the whole civic process at work.

Max kept asking why I was voting yes or no on certain things...quite loudly in fact. I had to keep hushing him and tried to explain to him that voting is a private thing.

Samuel has had a bit more of a difficult time with the whole process. He voted at school and was quite pleased with the whole thing...until one of his little buddies informed him that his dad told him, "If Obama wins, we are ALL DEAD!". Sam was not happy with that...neither was I!!!

I was shocked! Granted, I don't know in what context the quote was made, but it still seemed a bit much to me. They are 6 folks...6!

The child's dad and grandpa are pastor and youth pastor at a local church. I'm sure their Republican views are quite strong, but we still need to watch what we say around our children.

Samuel, already has a problem with worry and we try not to cause him to have anything more than necessary to worry about. Being dead....definitely a worry for him!

Matt talked to Samuel about it after I assured him, he would not in fact DIE if Obama won. Matt told Sam to tell his friend that "We should put our trust in God, and not our government". Sam seemed ok with that and went about his business. I wish I could be ok with what was said...I'm not sure why it bothers me so much...but it does.

Our children are innocent and free from economic woes and worries for such a short time...I was kind of hoping to hold off the worry until Sam was at least 10....that would take him to the next election year!

Sammy also informed us that he voted for "Rock Obama" at school. No, I did not offer him suggestions on who to vote for, nor did I make a big deal out of his choice...remember, he's SIX!

I asked him why he chose Obama. He told me, he liked how his name sounded and that his initials are BO...which stands for body odor! Makes a perfect presidential choice when your six! I know a few adults who may vote for their candidates on the same grounds!