It's Election Day. It's About Time.

My son came home from school the other day and asked me who I was voting for in the election.  His third grade class is holding an election, and they'd been talking about the candidates.  I gave him my standard lecture about the importance of participating in selecting candidates to represent us in government, and how awesome it was to live in a place where people are allowed to elect their leaders.

I started my life in the 60s, when the feminist movement was just getting started.  I did not burn any bras(I wasn't old enough for boobs!), but I grew up believing that women were equal to men.  Part of that equality, in my mind, meant that a woman could run for president, and be judged on her merits, just like a man.  It was very simple, but it seemed to be an impossible dream. Even the idea of a female vice president made people nuts.  It made me angry, it made me sad. Eventually, I just stopped believing.

Public service is not for the weak.  It takes dedication.  The office of the President is not a vacation or a photo op; there's a reason all presidents go gray during their service. It's a 24/7 job, for at least four years. There is no privacy for such a high office.  Most government positions are not the least bit glamorous or fun.  There are lots of big words written in tiny print to be read diligently. There's lots of arguing and speechifying before any real discussion. And so, so many boring meetings that you go cross-eyed.  What person would want to sign on for that? 

Well, this time, a woman wants to be president. 

This is not a blog post about how horrible one candidate is, or extolling the virtues of the other.  We've all had enough of that. What I want to do is take a moment to savor this:  People are voting today, and we have the opportunity to elect a woman to be our President.  I voted for that woman. I keep getting choked up about it, because I never thought I would see this day.  This is actual history in the making, and we all get to be a part of it today.  2016.

No matter what happens today, there are little girls all over this country who have had a dream planted in their hearts.  They've been told, many times, that they can be whatever they want to be.  They've been told to dream big, that the sky is the limit.  But that's never actually been the reality.

 As of today, however, it IS reality.