Today, I Voted...

Today, I voted.

Today, on a gorgeous, sunny and unusually warm day in St. Louis, MO, I waited in line for two hours and I voted. And it was an honor and a privilege.

Also today, just a few states away, in Georgia, an 106-year-old African American woman named Ann Cooper cast her ballot for president. It's been said many times that she's seen a lot in her lifetime and that's an understatement. She understands the value of her vote and her responsibility to act on her right to cast it. Ann Cooper is a reminder that there was a time when all citizens did not have a voice as well as a reminder of how lucky we are today.

I have not seen nearly what Ann Cooper has seen. I have not personally experienced discrimination based on my gender or my ethnicity. But I am keenly aware of how fortunate I am to live in a place where all citizens can vote.

Just sixty years ago, the final group of American Indians were granted the right to vote. In other parts of the world, women are still not trusted with voting responsibilities. I realize that had I been born in another time or into another family, I might not have this privilege.

So I am thankful for those who came before me and endured hardship so that I may have this freedom. I am honored to speak out for my choice for president. And I am awe-struck for the first time in my life. Today's experience was unlike any other. I'd have walked miles and waited days to contribute to this historic election.

Today, I voted. It felt good and right. And I pray that this feeling of hope will carry us 'til morning and much, much further.

Band Practice

For roughly three hours every day, teenagers gather in the neighbor's garage to play rock music. I'm pretty sure they think they sound like Jimmy Hendrix or Nirvana or Led Zepplin on any given day but the fact of the matter is that they really can't play. Anything. Not one song. Most of the time, it sounds like noise.

While I am admittedly not a huge fan of teenagers, I am a music lover. And I support the dreams of local musicians that either hope to make it big on an international stage one day or that simply want to play good music for their friends. Also, giving young kids a safe place to hang out with their friends is honorable. It's great that the parents can keep a watchful eye from a short distance and that the kids are at someone's home in the afternoons and Friday and Saturday nights, instead of being out on the streets getting into trouble.

But these kids are driving me insane. If they are going to blast the bass and electric guitar and bang on the drums on a daily basis, then I want them to learn an actual song. I am hoping that with a few more months of band practice and, hopefully some lessons, I will be hearing more than just the first few bars of Stairway to Heaven or the screeching of the electric guitar and the repeated beating of the bass drum. If not, however... and I am forced to continue to suffer under the current garage band regime, I may have to take action.

As I Mature

My friend Christy S. sent this to me in an email a while back but it seemed appropriate today.

As I Mature
-author unknown

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is stalk them until they panic and give in...

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are still assholes.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust and only suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others-- they are more screwed up than you think.

I've learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we're celebrities.

I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades, and there better be a lot of money to take its place!

I've learned that 99% or the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your kids did it.

I've learned that you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and the less important ones never seem to go away.