Don't forget to vote today!

It's not as if you could not know that today is Election Day here in the United States, but it's always good to remember what a privilege it is to be able to vote and have a voice in our government. Not only are there too many countries where democracy is but a distant dream, don't forget that women weren't even allowed to vote in this country until the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920.

When I was growing up, my parents always voted by absentee ballot. So I never had the experience of accompanying them to the voting booth and seeing what it was all about. But the importance of voting was emphasized in our family, and I've voted in every presidential election that's been held since I turned 18. Once I got married and had a permanent home, I realized that there's an election at least once and often twice a year, at least for local levels of government. I think I've only missed one election since I got married, although I can't remember why we didn't vote that time.

For the last few years, our polling place has been the fire station down the street, and I expect Alex and Tyler to be quite pleased about that. There's usually one truck still parked in the station, and there's always a few firefighters doing their best to get their job done amidst the major disruption to their routine. I imagine the boys will grow up associating voting with the fire station, and that's okay. I just want them to appreciate the privilege and exercise it every chance they get.

Image credit: Amazon.com.