I vote. I vote for Zoey's future more than my own.

I am currently watching the election returns on TV. What else could I be watching? :)

We voted today. It was a big deal. John and I went together and took Zoey. It's her first election.
It was also the first time we voted in our new precinct - outside of city limits. That's a bigger deal than you might think. We now vote on "Township Issues" and no longer get to voice our opinions on who we feel should be mayor and so on... On the bright side, we don't have to pay city taxes. (That is, until John moves his office back downtown. At that time, then it will be irritating. We'll pay city taxes for him to work there, but still have no say in how those tax dollars are spent.)

Anyhoo... As stated before, this election was/is big. For many reasons. Most importantly: Who will lead this country? President.

A few months ago I was totally sure about my Presidential choice. Then I did more research. I changed my mind. Then I did MORE research. I changed it back. Back and forth and back and forth. I was one of those "Undecided Voters." Undecided, still, as I stood at the voting booth. My sister and I had a 'discussion' about politics and policies over the weekend. I could have said anything and everything... it wouldn't have mattered to her. (And I mean that as in affecting her vote. I truly believe it 'mattered' to her what I thought, even if only for myself.) Her thoughts just added more to my inner questioning.

As I stood in the voting booth, I started casting my votes on the Statewide issues: casinos, water usage, environmentalism, etc. etc... Then I cast votes on the local issues, then local and state representatives... I left the big one for last. I read over the names. Many names. Many... more than I had ever anticipated.

I took this picture in order to commemorate the occasion. I wanted to have Zoey in it, but I took so long deciding that John took her outside. That, and I forgot my real camera. This was taken with my cell phone. Of course Obama and McCain's names weren't listed next to each other to make a super cool photo... so this barely readable picture shows just how long the list of names was. :)

Thinking back on it, I must have looked like an idiot. I took so long and thought so hard... I was fidgety and probably made weird noises (I guess I do that?!)...

I decided. I cast my vote. I will not tell you who got my vote, simply because that's my right. I will tell you that I voted my gut. I literally had a moment where my "gut reaction" was powerful! I thought about my daughter and went with what felt right.

We live in an amazing country!

Update: Ok, Ok… So now I want to tell you. I didn’t at first because I was afraid that people would think I fell to party lines or that I just voted this way because of the hype surrounding it all. But as I stated earlier, I really thought long and hard about this. That gut reaction was me literally getting sick to my stomach at the thought of John McCain dying in office and that ‘woman’ having anything to do with my life. McCain’s economic policies may have been better for the Miller Family in the near future, but the fact that Obama has a better grasp on family issues near and dear to my heart AND he will impact our environment in a positive way…well, that, my friend, is why he’s better for my daughter. We are smart enough to prosper in any economy. (Think The Secret!) But if someone doesn’t step up to changing our environmental policies, well… what will it all matter if Zoey has no clean place to live?!

Here’s to hope. Hope that he’ll clean up the mess that we’re in – economically and environmentally. He’s already made the USA look 100 times better to the rest of the world. I’m also proud to say that I voted for Obama not because he’s a Democrat, not because he’s African-American, but because I thought about the excitement of a new beginning… I’m ready for a positive move in this country.