Voting in America

Today is a voting day for the county where I live, so I voted . Then, I got a sticker. They still carry a little magic, stickers.

When I was filling in the circles on the ballot, I was reminded of how lucky we are to be able to vote. Being able to elect and select empowers us sometimes, makes us feel strong and choosy.

These feelings jumped right off the paper and into my morningness.

I noticed that there were a couple of blank spaces for write ins so I did that, too.
I voted to ban Monday mornings.
I voted for free laundry and cleaning service.
I voted for sugar free sugar and fat free fat.
I voted to never have another flat tire and for babies to sleep through the night starting on their very first night in the world.

The ideas came to me one after the other with none of them taking turns. One idea pushed the other right out of line, and soon, my pen went dry.

I asked one of the voting helpers for another pen and she said, “Sure, is that one not working? I opened a new box of pens this morning- must be a fluke.”
When I traded pens with her I said, “No, I don’t think that’s it. I just used this one up.”
The whispering between the helpers outside my voting booth didn’t distract me from continuing on.

I voted to give clergy peace and strength and for congregations to recognize that Pastors are people, too.
I voted to build in a workday naptime each and every day.
I voted to exile nightmares and night terrors.
I voted for Danskos to always be on sale and for cats to stop shedding.

My list went on. I started writing in teeny tiny fairy print.

I voted for framily to be an official and recognized word and entity.
I voted for squirrels to stop bullying bulbs that want to sleep til spring.

When I stepped back from my booth and asked for a second ballot, one of the women behind the table shook her head and windshield wiper-ed her index at me. “We only get to vote one time today, Missy. One ballot, one vote counted.”
Rats. One ballot didn’t even come close to holding all I wanted voted on. Important issues. Critical points.

I resigned myself to her directives and took my ballot to the ballot eater. My fully voted document was heavy with ink and it took me three tries to convince the machine to accept my offering. When I heard the machine swallow my votes, I went back to work and made a mental note to take note of when our next voting day is…