heart to heart blog

Today is election day. This has been a long-awaited day for many- and for those of us living in a swing-state like Pennsylvania, I think we’ve been ready for this day to come for quite a while. Now I know politics doesn’t mix well with much, frankly, (so I’ve come to find out after slight nudges turn into swift kicks under tables) but one thing that’s become clear to me is that Politics and Parenting definitely mix. And no, I’m not talking about the politics of the PTA (though this election has shown us that’s clearly a great place to start) and I’m not referring to political conversations on the playground but I am talking about the passion for politics that ignites in [a lot] of people when they become parents. Me included.

I’ve always half paid attention to politics growing up and exercised my right to vote as soon as I was allowed, but I only really started to pay attention when I became a parent (or was soon to become a parent as I was in the election 4 years ago)

Much like so many things that are awakened when you become a parent, your hopes and dreams for your child’s future become a priority. We all want what’s best for our children and we often see hope and the opportunity to impact that future by participating in the political process of our great nation.

I’ve enjoyed explaining a little bit of this to my son over the last few weeks. We watched every debate (usually straining to listen over screaming kids or make-believe car sounds) but always took the time out to tell our son who was who and what they were talking about (in kid terms). It’s hard to tell if you’re child is even paying attention but recently someone asked my son who was running for president and he was able to remember both candidates by name (and funny when the doorbell rang unexpectedly the other night and I looked at my son and said, “Who do you think that is? and totally out of the blue, he said “John McCain!” Surprisingly, it wasn’t)

I’m excited for my husband to take my son to the polls with him tonight. (I already voted!) We’re excited to show him, for the first time in his young life, what a privilege it is to live in this great nation where we have the opportunity to vote and live in a democracy where we get to have a say in what we want. I know he won’t see the significance of it but we’re happy to try and install that notion starting now. I found a great printable ballot on Wondertime magazine’s website so my husband and I created one for Jagger to fill out today. Of course he’ll be voting on what we have for dinner and which PJs he’ll be wearing to bed tonight, but either way, it will empower him and give him a sense of why voting is important. Of course it will take him all of 5 seconds to do this and he will surely be running around for the rest of the time while my husband waits in line, but we’ll enjoy having him take part in this wonderful process – no matter how many eye-rolls my DH gets