If not for my friend, I would have abstained from voting today, not because I have no interest in the outcome but because I've had a bad couple of days and was happy just to complete my scoring shift today. It would have been so easy not to leave the house. When I talked to my friend after work, she mentioned that she had voted earlier today. I said, "I'm ashamed to say --" and before I could finish, she said, "Nope. That's not an option." She's sick and I had asked if I could do anything for her. She said, "That's what you can do for me. Go vote." So I did.
When I turned eighteen, one of the first things I did was drive to the courthouse and register to vote. I couldn't wait! And the next year, I voted in my very first presidential election. Since then, I have missed one, the 2000 election, because that was the year I moved to Florida and I didn't have my voter card here yet. I always felt so guilty. The most trouble I ever went to to vote was in the 1992 election. My youngest son was three months old, and I had stood in line for almost four hours. He was nursing and I was about to burst. I wasn't anywhere near the front of the line, so I took him to my mom's house, fed him, and left him with my grandmother while someone held my place in line. I got back with two hours to spare. The lines had never been so long at that old schoolhouse on the mountain, and after that year, the county set up a better system. I heard that some people had stood in line for eight hours, and there were many elderly and disabled people who had to leave before voting. It sounds like Florida now, but it was a different state.
My experience tonight was quick and easy. The voting location was five minutes from my house, and I took in a beautiful sunset on the way. I parked and was in and out the door in less than ten minutes. The moon was nearly full and seemed to be smiling as I came back home. I'm feeling pretty good.
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