“I wasn’t just voting for myself; I was voting on behalf of those young women and men who one day, eighteen years from now, would be standing next to me in the voting booth.”
So I started off this morning to go vote at my nearest polling place, and to my surprise, the elementary school that I thought was my polling place– and had been for years– was not this year!
I had already started off on foot for my journey– my car was out of service– and I found out that the nearest polling place was almost two more miles away!
After months of making phone calls and encouraging others to get out and vote, I decided that it was too late to turn back now, and I was off on my election day journey! As with anything in life, if it is worth doing, it is worth some sacrifice– even the blisters that I knew I would have on my feet the next day!
After walking past row after row of Romney-Ryan, Obama-Biden signs, I began to get tired. My feet were getting sore, and my knees began to hurt–ever notice how those “little hills” don’t seem so steep unless you’re walking up them?
As I came near the polling place, a Catholic Church, I looked up and saw a poster of an unborn child that said “Respect life.” A tear came to my eye.
Suddenly, my aching feet, my sore knees and the long walk didn’t seem like such an obstacle.
I continued on my journey, but now with a somber respect for the very real impact that my vote would have on others.
This election is about many things, and today, we have the opportunity to vote on behalf of those issues that as “concerned women,” concern us the most.
As I reflect on the day, I somehow feel that I wasn’t just voting for myself, but that I was voting on behalf of that young lady or young man who one day, eighteen years from now, will be standing next to me in the voting booth and will be making their own choice for President of the United States.
Today’s guest blogger is Lori Vogt, a CWA Centennial Prayer/Action Chapter Leader in Colorado