On Tuesday, I, like just about everyone else, went to vote. Except that I wasn't alone. I had my boys with me.
I guess I am still used to NJ, where the polls are open longer than where we are here in PA, and I never had to wait on a long line in NJ. I can't remember ever having to. I was warned that there might be long lines here early in the morning, but I thought, "How bad can it be? Let me just go get it over with." And so I went.
I got there at about 7:30, or maybe a few minutes before. There were cars up and down the street, and I thought, "Oh, boy. Maybe it just looks worse than it is." I figured I would check the parking lot. If there were no spaces, obviously, I wasn't going to haul the boys down the street. But lo, there were several spaces, quite a few, in fact. I thought perhaps it was moving faster than it looked, so I got the boys out of their car seats and walked toward the building.
The line was out the door. But again, I thought it would move quickly, after all, it takes two seconds to vote. I hauled Silas in my arms, all 25 lbs. (but probably more), and I held onto Caleb's hood. I thought, stupidly, that someone would take pity on a woman with a baby and another child and offer to move her forward. I took my place at the end of the line, realizing it was very cold outside, and yikes, was this a bad idea? But I was already here. I'd have to put the boys back in their car seats, and come back out later, putting them back in the car, and taking them out again. I didn't want to do that.
The line quickly grew behind me. And it moved... slowly. We voters struck up conversations with one another, not revealing anything about for whom our votes would be cast. It was all friendly. We took teeny tiny steps. I could not put Silas down, because when I tried to stand him next to me, he either wanted to sit on the cold ground, or toddle away, so I was forced to hold him. My arm was tired. As we moved forward, one person offered for me to move in front of him. Then, one of the poll workers noticed Silas's missing shoe, and announced the second half of the alphabet could move over. Yay! We were inside, out of the cold. We inched forward. As we did, another man said I could go in front of him. Silas began having more meltdowns. Yikes, it was bad. Another guy said I could move forward. (These were all teeny jumps- just the person right in front of me.) Finally, I was up there. I got my wallet out, not realizing the change zipper was partially open, and change went on the floor. Silas was LOUD. The man helped me pick up my change. The poll workers told me I should have come to the front of the line. (Was I supposed to just cut people? People have to OFFER that.) Somehow, I managed to sign my name. Man, my arm was burning by this time. I took my boys, and I placed my vote. I scrambled to the car, so relieved to put Silas down. All told, it took me about an hour.
By the time we got home, my upper body was so tired and sore. Silas fell asleep in the two minute drive. A simple task, and we were wiped out. I was glad to settle back into our routine with a cup of tea.
As the results were coming through that night, Brian and I watched with anticipation. Trump was losing PA. I felt so dejected. After all, I had WORKED for my vote. I struggled for it. (Two days later, my arm, back, and neck are all still sore.) I wanted my vote to count. I didn't just press a button. I had labored through that line!
But then, he pulled forward. We were so anxious to see if he'd win PA, which would make him the winner of the whole thing. But it was getting late. We were on pins and needles with anticipation, because it was our state! Our votes! My hard work!
I finally went to bed before Brian. He was on the computer, while I got a few zzz's, then woke back up. I asked him for updates, and he announced that Trump won PA, and he was over 270. We clasped hands and were so thankful. Our votes mattered. My vote mattered! Never had I worked for a vote more!
I'm not going to get into a political dissertation here on this blog. Many Christians won't vote for Trump due to the myriad of reports coming out about him. I didn't care for those things either. However, I didn't put Trump in his spot. Brian and I voted for someone else in the GOP primaries. But this was the choice before us. At the end of the day, we are conservatives, and we have to go with our party, and not waste our vote on someone who has no chance of winning. Trump has his list of flaws. But he has many good stances on issues that are important to us, as Christians. Stances that Democrats are completely against.
We don't place our hope in Trump, but rather, the God who sits on the throne. His majesty puts anything to shame that exists on this earth, and we await His coming kingdom. But for now, it was a sweet, small victory for those who uphold conservative values.
I'm proud I was able to share that day with my boys. Though they'll never remember it, I will.
And I am still waiting for all my muscle tenderness to fade.
P.S. Brian voted after work, and he had to wait an hour and a half. He was so proud of me, because he said all he had to do was stand there, the next day he bought me an iced coffee on his way home from work!
