Nov. 4

Well the big day has finally arrived! I have been looking forward to Nov. 4 for a long long time, about two years. I have been wanting to vote so that I can stop being nervous, but I am still nervous. I woke up a bit early, 7am is early when I don't have to work, jumped out of bed told the kids to gather up some books and coloring because we were going to vote. They were not nearly as excited as I was. I think the exact quote was "Do we have to go?" Yes, I said this is an amazing and historic election, I want you to experience it. So I showered, got dressed, and piled the kids in our decrepit minivan.

If you do not know about our decrepit minivan, let me explain. Our van is not old but seems to be aging very fast. The gas gage does not work, we keep track by miles. The radiator overheats unless you always have the heat on, which is fine in the winter, not so good in the summer. Last year while I was at a professional development on Cathedral St. downtown Baltimore, my passengers side window was broken so the thief could have my bag, which looked like a laptop bag but really was only holding my year of lesson plans and a year of research. We have not been able to afford to replace the window, which is ok when you need fresh air because of the heat. Recently the steering began to make loud squeaking noises when I turn. So the van has issues.

When I got near the retirement home where I vote there were cars parked down the street. I kept driving hoping for a closer spot. I found one very close and saw a very long line.

It wrapped around the parking lot several ways and I could not see a door in site. I knew my children would revolt so I asked them if they would like to wait in the car, they did. Luckily for my excellent parking spot I could see the car the entire 4 1/2 hours I was in line. Yes I did say 4 1/2 hours! I arrived at the parking lot at 8:40am and got to my van at 1:15pm. I kept jogging back to my car to make sure the kids were ok, they were of course. Zeek brought 2 books and finished one and started the other. Little blue was not as content and wanted some music, I agreed. I was very happy to see so many people wait so long and I did not hear any complaints, except for my stomach. I voted successfully and ran back to my car. Kids were good, but hungry. I turned the key, the battery was dead. The decrepit van had used up the battery listening to music for an hour, usually the radio does not use enough power to drain a battery. Well, kids time to walk! Luckily we live close.
Now I am still nervous, I want to hear reports, but it is too early. Hopefully everyone reading this has already voted, and now all we can do is wait for the good news.

Update: As I was finishing up this post my husband came home, he only stood in line 45min. He said that our polling station was on the news for having the longest wait.

Update 2: the following picture I found on a local news channel website. I am in this picture, reading a book that Zeek had finished. At that point I had been waiting almost 4 hours.

On the other side of the trees is the retirement home.