Officially Obamaed

It began, this Super Tuesday in Chicago, a crabby day in our household. It is quiet here with my parents on one of those retired people extended vacations on white sandy beaches with a stack of books and pile of peel-and-eat shrimp, and so Lil E's whining echoed in kitchen over having milk-not having milk-having milk in THAT glass-no! juice! in THAT glass!, then in the living room over the same Curious George episode running for the third time this week and then on the floor over something in that high-pitched preschooler whine that is inaudible to adult ears...or at that point, necessarily ignored. I fixed the milk and then the juice and then the milk again, then flipped furiously through cable and then On Demand and then back to PBS for please-God-another-Curious-George that does not involve the effing supermarket hi-jinx or the camping trip with the ding-dong doorman and his persnickety little dog. And then, as I poured pink Cheerios, MOMMY! and a thank-you-God gallon of coffee, it occurred to me that maybe the boy's also disappointed he never got to cast a vote for John Edwards.

What? This is Chicago, people! 

Everyone knows if you can reach the table, you can have
one of those magnetic pens to vote. And the growth spurt fostered by
the organic fake Nutrigrain bar obsession Lil E's experienced in the
last three months has served my three-year old well. Forget learning to
use scissors and trying not to pee outside the toilet: Put down that Lightning McQueen and do your civic duty, kid!



And if he really was set on drawing that little line between the arrows
on Edwards' name, well then...I could deal with the crabbiness with a
lot more care and voterly tenderness.



It's not that he - or we, for that matter - are not excited about Obama. He - and...OK, we -- have been singing Buh-rawk Oh-ba-mahhh for days now. It's definitely fueled the fire, a fire I believe in, a fire I am proud to fan.



But I admit, I wish I could have voted for Edwards, as I planned. I
wish I could have made that statement personally and politically.



That said, I proudly cast my vote for Obama, got chills during his
speech in Chicago and was thrilled he took Illinois so assertively.



I put my heart into my decision and then I put my heart into it again
once Edwards resigned from the race. It wasn't easy. I've dreamed of
voting for a woman for president since I adamently wore my hot pink Ms.
t-shirt to kindergarten and rode on my dad's shoulders in the ERA march
and (gulp) even agreed to be a stewardess (yes, stewardess) on Aaron
Braxton's airplane while he commandeered as pilot (oh the thought).
That made my thoughts and research and instincts all the more
important. And while I won't be unhappy to vote for Hillary if she's
The Candidate, it felt right and good to make my choice for the change
I see right there in the inadequately private booth in the Catholic
school basement today.



And still, co-op and multi-colored feather Mardi Gras mask crafts
called and Lil E had to bail on his own trip to the booth. Sure, he was
crabby after co-op and a nap that was too short, but how could I argue
back? Instead, I plied him with cereal bars and juice in four different
glasses and calculated how many elections he will be able to
participate in as a patriot in U.S. of A.



OK, so the patriotic pep talk didn't soothe the preschooler. But the
snacks totally did. That wasn't just me copping out as a mama, it was
me speaking his language and letting him cast his vote his own way.
With non-toxic markers and caked-on mixed berry crumbs.

Comments

[Sarah]

If Hillary wins the nomination, I would not be surprised if Edwards is her running mate...she has really been talking him up since he dropped out of the race...hmmm.