A husband and a wife and their two kids got dressed and went out in the rain. Out the front door with two kids in tow. To do something very important.
"I'm excited!" the young one squealed.
"I just hope it goes well," the older one responded. Because he's an old soul and he knew that a lot was going on in the country.
In they went. The young one bouncing like Tigger and the older one carefully inspecting every person he saw to determine whose camp they were in. The young one went with the mama and the old soul joined the dad. Stood right there and read the ballots and pushed the buttons and asked questions right along with their parents.
"I voted!" the young one told the volunteer lady. "I voted so I'm supposed to get a sticker!"
And she shook his hand and agreed that, yes, he should get a sticker. And his brother, the old soul, should, too. And they did.
The young one, six, and the old soul, seven. Old enough to read the names. Old enough to remember.
And now, just maybe, old enough rejoice.
***
Oh happy day.
YES!!! Let's ALL rejoice!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd now for Michelle 2016!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from a follower who isn't allowed to vote in her country of residence ...
Ha ha ha. . .she's far too smart to want to do that job. :)
DeleteIt's a good, good day.
ReplyDeleteThat it is.
DeleteWoohoo 4 more years! Could not have been happier today. Also came over here to mention that I've been back in school and taking a history class and I have learned in depth about Booker T Washington and his founding of Tuskegee. Always makes me think of you when I here about it. :) So awesome to hear about those historical roots!
ReplyDeleteYay! Love that picture of you. Thanks for stopping by and hope you're doing well!
DeleteOh happy day! I love the image of the four of you, voting together. Very important lessons you are teaching your boys. And i know they are rejoicing!
ReplyDeleteWoo hoooo!
DeleteJust watched an episode of Christy, a TV series from some years ago about a woman who left Asheville NC for the Great Smoky Mountains to teach in a mission school. One character was a black man who wanted to leave his community in Kentucky and attend Meharry Medical School. I think it takes place in the 30s. I immediately thought of you and of the history of that proud institution.
ReplyDeleteAwwww, thanks for remembering.
DeleteWhat a great and happy day! I sincerely hope that both sides make an effort to work together to solve some of the very serious problems facing our country. I want to bring them to the Shelter and over to Grady and say, "This, THIS is real life for too many of our citizens. America should be better, do better than this. Because what we see every day should not happen in America."
ReplyDeleteI remain hopeful in the leadership of President Obama but he cannot do it alone and ALL of our elected officials have a responsibility to care for the disenfranchised.
A Climbing Down From Her Soapbox Coach B
Hey Coach B! I love your soapbox. You rock, sister.
DeleteI read your comment on Ms. Moon's blog about taking the boys voting - I hoped you'd post here about it.
ReplyDeleteThey WILL remember. Absolutely. No doubt. I am the proud parent of a new 18 year old voter. She went voting with us when she was younger. She got her sticker and proudly wore it to school on election days.
And now I am so proud of how seriously she took her voting right. She participated fully! And your boys will too.
That's awesome, Jill. Thank you so much for coming by.
DeleteI'm curious if you have posted about why you think Obama was the best candidate? I don't read your blog every day, so you may have. It would be interesting to hear your opinion as to why you chose him, since you are a hard working person who has clearly worked for what they have.
ReplyDeleteHey there, Jessica.
DeleteFirst--thank you for stopping by and for reading my blog even once. I returned the favor and visited your blog as well. While I could just answer this question in the most literal way possible, I think I will opt not to because I sensed that the spirit in which it was asked was more provocative than collegial. I also don't know how to take the part about being a "hard working person who has clearly worked for what I have." So I will try not to read too much into that. Instead, I will simply say that I could tell from your strong and heartfelt words (on your blog) that you have passionate feelings about the outcome of the election--as do I. These things we have in common--even if our political views may differ.
Jessica, to me it's okay if people agree to disagree. I also think it's possible to be a person of faith and be okay with the outcome of this election. This I know for sure because I know who I am. That said, I never want to open this space to anything coming from a spirit of anger. For me, that's not where I'm coming from at all. I hope I misunderstood your tone and that you weren't either.
If I came across as angry in my comment, I didn't mean to. I am sorry for that. I seriously would love to read a blog post as to your opinion. I agree with you about people agreeing to disagree. If we all agreed on everything the world would be pretty boring. I really just like to hear other peoples opinions. I do try to have adult conversations when it comes to politics and do my best to try not to offend anyone when discussing them. I want people to respect me for my stance. My blog post probably doesn't come across that way, but I'm not the best writer and tend to get on rants at times!
DeleteBy the way I think it is great that you took your boys to vote with you. I took my son, even though he's only 5 months old. I plan on taking him every time I vote so that he will understand the importance of voting!
Good morning, Jessica! Thank you so, so much for your response--really. I snooped around on your blog and am 100% in love with that sweet baby James. What an adorable little face! And seriously--is he ever sad? That baby is all smiles!
DeleteI have stuck my toe into my political views here but haven't ever really, fully gone there--mostly because it's a lot to unpack and a dialogue on the specifics of why I feel the way I feel could get bigger than what I want on this space. As you know, I love for my blog to be a discussion. . . but some of my feelings on all of this run pretty deep. I will think on it. . .maybe one day I'll get into a rant on the topic! (BTW--I tend to get on rants, too!)
Looove that you took sweet baby James to the poll with you. I bet he smiled the whole way. :)
xoxo across the aisle and mama-to-mama,
Kimberly
Aww thank you! I am in love with him too! lol! He is happy 99% of the time, we really are blessed with such a good baby. My family has said we might should stop with him cause there is no way we can have another one as good as him.
DeleteI'll be on the lookout for that rant!
You've got to have more -- there's nothing cuter than sibs playing together. (It gives us mamas a break, too!) But yeah, I can see how your family says that -- he looks like a little angel. :) Hope y'all have a fun weekend!
Delete