Collin's First Step...in the Democratic Process

It's a banner year for voters, young and old. And, the youngest in our household is learning to be part of the democratic process. We've bent the "no t.v." rule to allow for the presidential and, yesterday, for the vice presidential debates. He even laughed a few times, although I'm pretty sure he was just joining in when we did and he liked when Mommy talked funny like Mrs. Palin.

Bryon claims that he even pointed to the Obama and McCain in the paper after the presidential debates, a sight I missed because, sigh, I was away for the weekend. Yep, I'm still lamenting the time I missed that weekend. I'm pretty sure he grew!

But, with the military comes some voting pitfalls. I can't take him to the polls with me to let him poke pins in ballots, push the touch screen or check boxes; whatever the option is here. Mostly, I can't do that because I'm still registered to vote in Ohio. I've been trying to tell Collin how this is a really good thing in actuality, although it means missing out on the buzz of voting for "real" at the polls.

While I don't think he "gets" the idea that voting in Ohio means more than voting in California for this particular election because of the logistical math of Ohio being a swing state and California being a sort of done deal, I am in love with the idea of telling him about it. He just sort of keeps going back to the cupboard and asking for another cracker. Still, they say that they hear you, they absorb and that they are sponges. They learn language, life and everything from listening to you. I'm pretty sure Elmo isn't talking about swing states, right?

Collin decided, okay Mommy decided, that he should participate in the electoral process as much as he could, as early as he could. Because hey, it's never too early for the future president of the U.S. to start! So, he helped mail mommy's absentee ballot request this morning. I think that's a pretty big deal. I can't wait for him to help me vote...