Our Happy Life

I will not be offended if you ignore this post. I know not everyone feels the same as I do about politics and try not to push my "agenda" or my thoughts on others as I think everyone should make up thier own mind.
But I feel history being made and I want to talk about it for a minute.
I came across this story on a message board I go to and was bawling by the end of it:

I Didn't Vote For Obama Today
November 4, 2008,
9:37AM
"I have a confession to make.I did not vote for Barack Obama today.I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross. She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself. So who did I vote for?No one.I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway. Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it. Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along. It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter. So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President."

When Colin and I went to early vote a week and a half ago, we brought Noah with us. We were nervous to have him there with us. Thought he wouldn't handle being in the line well and that he would get frustrated. But we were both intent on voting in this election. Both of us felt too much was on the line to stay home and sit this one out. Myself in particular have approached this election with a passion and quest for knowledge than any prior. Up until now I'd been pretty ambivilant to politics in general. Oh I had voted before, but I didn't read up on the issues, I didn't think much of it. This time though, I poured myself into everything I could find. I wasn't voting for myself, I was voting for my family. For my son. For my daughter. I had to make the decision to pick the canidate that would keep thier future safe. The current state of this nation is disgusting. It has to be changed. Both canidates promised that change. I had to figure out who would deliver.
I watched every debate (including the oh so humerous VP debate), channel surfed between CNN (liberal) and Fox news (conservative) every night before going to bed. Read every unbiased article I could come across. Read up on each party to see where thier views stood on the issues that matter most to me. I even set some of my OWN personal morals and views aside to look at the bigger picture. What's best for ME isn't neccessarily what's best for the country. This resounded with me. Our nation has become a selfish nation. And look where it's gotten us. Something has got to change.
So here we are...in line. We get to the front of the line and Noah sees an old teacher of his from last year. I think he thought we were going to leave him with her, so he clings to me. I worry that he's going to make it hard for me to vote. I walk up and need to change my address and change my name to my married name. I have to crouch down to fill out the card while holding Noah. No easy feat when you are 7 months pregnant.
After getting that all finished I walk up to the voting booth with my son. He's in awe of the electronic voting machine. I bet it looked like a big game to him. I go through and put in my votes for all the canidates. At one point it hits me. I am voting for my children. And there they both were. One in me and one clinging to my hip. As I cast my vote for Barack Obama I am hit with the realization that I am making history. Even if he doesn't win...I am including my children in one of the most history making elections in American history. I kiss Noah on the forehead and walk out holding my head high proud of fulfilling my civic duty.

Regardless of who wins, shoot regardless of who I voted for...I included my children...specifically my son, in a piece of history. It was thier vote though. Not mine. I voted for them. For thier future's. For the kind of country I want them to live in. I remember vividly walking into the voting booth with my own mother, and that image alone is one that propels me to care and to vote. I hope to do the same for my children.