Monday, November 3, 2008

We Need A Change Of Scenery

Last week Alex and I went into our town hall on a Tuesday evening to vote absentee. Our town is small and we didn't have to wait long, but there was a line and the place was hopping for 5pm. After I filled in that little black circle next to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, I was feeling elated but mostly I felt like I was jacked on caffeine--I mean, I was jacked on caffeine, but I was getting one serious Obama rush. I did it, we had done it. We voted, we didn't have to worry about long-lines, last minute emergenicies, barfy kids or Nor-Easters.



Now, I'm normally a news junkie, but I usually satisfy my news fix by reading from the internet and some newspapers and magazines. This fall, however, our tv has been on in the early morning and again in the evening for some Maddow and Olbermann fixes, followed by The Daily Show bedtime laughs and groans. And yes, my parents raised us in front of the evening news and reading The New Yorker for fun and papered our walls with maps and I should mention that I got my B.A. in Poltical Science...so I'm not just a news junkie, but a political news junkie. So in this house, we paper our windows with campaign signs, attend rallys and work phone banks. I didn't work the phone bank (I don't enjoy phones) but Alex and our 11 year old daughter did, for three hours and she wanted to do more.



That's been the best part of this enitre election season, I think--that we can share it with our incredibly well-informed children. I fully expect to be pouring mugs of tea, baking cookies and sitting by the fire with our two kids until very late Tuesday evening watching the voting results. Until then we will have to remain hopeful, keep ourselves busy, have more discussions, pace the house a few thousand more times and yes, turn on the tube for the latest polls. It won't be enough of a fix, but it will have to do. So get your vote out, get your friends and family out to vote, bake something, drink that fair trade coffee and wait until Wednesday morning. Maybe this will help--



just looking out my window gives us a new view, a hope for the future. Let it be so, because we certainly could use a change of scenery.

4 comments:

  1. You are so fortunate to have been raised by politically active parents. Mine are very conservative in their later years but were not very aware/active when I was a child.

    I'm sure I'm quite a disappointment to them, being about as far from the right as I can go. My mother even opened a flickr account just so she could negatively comment on my Obama sign photo.

    But we raised our kids the way you were raised and they are very active. This is their first presidential election! Devon's 21 and Kate's 19. We're all going together to vote and then out to dinner...and then to the cafe where the local democrats watch the results on the tv...

    My husband LOVES Keith Olbermann...he watches it religiously. Recorded, if we aren't home at 8.

    I can totally relate to how you're feeling...you are certainly NOT alone!

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  2. Think of me tomorrow as I'm standing in a long line.... It's suppose to be a nice day, thankful!
    I have a terrible cold and wouldn't be to happy to stand out in the cold or rain. I'm hitting the neighborhood community center around 9:30am. My daughter Autumn's first time to vote, she is really excited!
    Joyous Election Day to you!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Looking forward to a little of that "Obama rush" myself!

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  3. Ooo, Kim, do tell, who's your momma? muahahaha. Seriously, that's awful, she really ought to get a hobby.

    That sounds like a lovely evening you have planned, Kim. And high fives to your dh on Mr. Olbermann.

    Anet--poor dear with the sniffles, fingers crossed for a good day for you and I hope you don't have to wait in line too long.

    So exciting for your kids, Anet and Kim! Lucky, too. I missed the '88 election by 6 months.

    Happy Voting! Hang in there, see you tomorrow night!

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  4. it's awesome that there has been this "problem" of long lines all over... people taking a greater interest in public issues is always a good thing

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