The Big Day

I barely could sleep last night!!!

And it certainly wasn't for lack of being tired. Kyle and I just had a whirlwind weekend in New York City that included late night cocktails at the literary lounge that is the Algonquin, a post-SNL appearance Cindy and John McCain sighting, (feeling a little lazy while) cheering on the runners of the New York marathon, frrozen hot chocolates at the famed Serendipity 3, gorilla-gawking and squirming in the snake house at the Bronx Zoo and delighting in the deliciousness that is my grandparent's company.

But even with all that, the most thrilling part of our week comes today, when we take to the polls to VOTE!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I am Obsessed (with a capital O) with politics, though because of my journalistic commitments, I keep my political preferences close to the vest, except when engaging in discourse with my closest friends and family. The only endorsement I'll make is to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!

Yesterday, on our trip home from the City, I remarked to Kyle that the 2008 election reminded me a lot of wedding planning: nearly two years of priority setting and shifting, diplomacy and of course, lots of fundraising, all leading up to one very meaningful day! But as is the case with a wedding, while the big election day is just "one day", the implications of what takes place TODAY will be felt for decades. And so, take it seriously. While your life might not actually depend on it, your lifestyle certainly does.

Regardless of what you think of our nation's politics or the process of this particular election cycle, we are SO LUCKY to live in a country where our only "fear" about heading to the polls is that the lines may be long. I cannot wait to wait!!!

Being involved in this election was so important to me, so today, I'll be spending much of my day and night volunteering at the polls in Portland. I'll be stationed as a poll worker at the Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall from 2 p.m. until the polls close at 8 p.m. If you happen to be voting there, please say hi! I must say that after attending the volunteer training last week, I have so much more admiration and respect for the democratic process. There is a lot more to it than checking off a name, just like there is much more to voting than checking off a name.

And if for some reason you are still undecided (how can this be?), I urge you to visit ProCon.com to see a side-by-side comparison as to how the leading six presidential candidates (yeah, there are more than two- Maine has four on the ballot while Colorado has the most with 16) stand on some of the leading issues.