November Moments

Election Day. Another 16 years and the franchise is all yours, kid!

The month of November is passing us by just as fast as Liam's second year. We kicked off the month with Liam's second birthday and his official two-year check-up with his doctor. Since May he has only gained a little over a pound, but he has grown two inches! For a kid who eats like he has two hallow legs, you would think he would have no trouble putting on weight, but he is almost never still during waking hours and is on the tall side, so I'm not worried. The day after his birthday was Election Day, of course. I took Liam to the polling place and gave him his first civics lesson. He even got an honorary "I Voted" sticker from the elderly lady handing them out at the polling place. Apparently retired ladies of a certain age are suckers for chatty two-year-old boys.

Thankfully this month has finally offered the break in the heat I've been waiting for so long. Our walks are much more pleasant and less sweaty now that the cool fall beach weather has returned. We have even had a few rainy days, which I always enjoy. I know it sounds unfair to complain about sunshine, but I miss weather and don't mind cold rainy days at all. I see them as a great excuse to stay in and get cozy at home.

Rainy day.

 Last week Eric gave a lecture for the American Research Center in Egypt at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. They asked him to speak on King Tut and dogs as part of a series of lectures celebrating the 90th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter. Liam is hardly one for lectures, so he and I wandered the museum while Eric gave his talk. Based on the reactions of people I spoke to at the reception afterward, they all enjoyed his lecture very much. Many ARCE members are retired folks, so Liam was also a hit with them. It was a long day, and Liam and I had to make an early exit when he started to lose steam.

In the car on the ride home after Daddy's lecture.

After Eric's lecture at the Bowers Museum.
Liam isn't much for family pictures these days, can you tell?

As you can see from the picture above, Liam has no patience for family pictures right now. The last family photo we had taken was when Liam was just one month old. (Eric isn't much for family pictures, either.) However, I managed to get both of them in the studio two weeks ago for a 2012 family portrait session. I considered that achievement alone a victory, and it turns out it was the only victory I was destined for that day. Kudos to Eric for his patience, but Liam was obstinate and wanted nothing to do with getting his picture taken with us or by himself. Our family/two-year portraits session turned into an hour and a half long chore. There were no snacks, gadgets, or toys that could persuade Liam to submit to pictures. We limped away from our portrait session with only one or two decent family shots and only one or two good shots of Liam. It was a valiant effort, but it just wasn't meant to be. ...Ah, well. We tried!

Election Day '08

One nice thing about living in the city is that my polling place is within walking distance of my apartment. I was there by 6:50 a.m., and already the line extended down the block. It was a beautiful sunny rainy morning, with the sun shining brightly in spite of the dark steely rain clouds filling the sky. (That's right, in California the sun still shines even when it's raining.) In spite of the ever-growing line snaking out the door of the school auditorium, every one I saw had a smile on their face, amiably chatting with others in line. Maybe they were happy to be casting a ballot, but I suspect a lot of people were as happy as I was that today means the beginning of the end of this incredibly long election process. No one was complaining about the line, and no one was leaving until their ballot was cast.

Once I finally got into the school auditorium it didn't take long to vote and hand my ballot to the smiling elderly man who fed it into the balloting machine and watched the light turn green. I got my "I voted" sticker, and was out the door. All told, the whole thing took me only an hour or so. Even though I'm fully aware of how desperately our country needs to update and reform the voting system, I enjoy Election Day. I like standing up and participating in democracy. I am also proud to do so, knowing that I am part of a segment of the population that was for so much of this country's history denied this basic right of citizenship.

With my most important task of the day completed, I can kick back and watch it all play out with the excitement and anticipation of a true history geek. Studying history is a passion of mine, but living history is way more cool.

Right now I'm at work attempting to get something done while listening to online election coverage. This afternoon I'll head home, tune into my favorite cable news channel, order a pizza, and settle in to watch the returns.