We waited in line for two hours to vote today, knowing that we could have voted early. But there’s something exciting about standing in line with other Americans to vote. My husband and I like to rustle up our adult kids and meet at the polls whenever we can. And so it was that I came to be standing in line with three of my grownup kids, reporting to others who vote at our polling place and hearing from the rest what the lines were like at their polling places.
Old people, babies, toddlers bundled up in their bright-colored hats, women in pant suits, farmers, whole families, people of all different races, all waiting together. You make new friends, standing in line for two hours. You hear interesting things.
The old man leaning on his cane for two hours, barely able to shuffle along in line, impressed me. The young mothers with nursing babies, trying to juggle a baby, a stroller and diaper bag, and hang onto a rowdy toddler impressed me. The Asian family and the African American family who came with ancient grandparents, middle-aged parents, young adults and college-aged kids and grandbabies impressed me.
Nobody complained. Everyone smiled good-naturedly as the wind mercilessly whipped our hair around our faces. Nobody grew surly or impatient or short-tempered when we got up to the doors and saw only 16 voting booths for hundreds of voters. We were happyto vote and get our “I Voted” stickers.
For the first time in months, nobody wanted to talk about his or her candidate. Nobody wanted to tell others how to vote or what to believe. Everyone was excited about this historic vote. Everyone had something good to say about every candidate.
I even heard people stand up for President Bush, calling to mind the terrible things that happened on his watch and over which he had no control, such as 9/11.
One of my children voted for the first time today. Though he was grumpy about standing in line for two hours, he admitted that he’s waited in line longer for concerts or sporting events. As I watched him feed his ballots into the ballot machine, I grew a little misty-eyed. I saw his first steps and today I saw his first vote. I am so proud of him.
As we walked out the doors, the first hundred or so people we passed clapped or called out to as we exited the polls. “Hope you voted for the right side!” and “A moving line—that’s the change we need!” to much laughter.
But once the laughter died down, a twenty-something man in a ball cap, his pregnant wife standing nearby, said, “People around the world would love to have the opportunity to stand in line and vote in a fair election—think about China. Think about all the places where people don’t have this privilege.”
We stopped in our tracks, and everyone around this young man fell silent. You could see that people were considering what he said, thinking about how blessed we are. As agreement broke out, we walked away, but I swear, I was choked up.
It really is great to be an American, after all.
If you voted today, what was your experience like?
