Unexpected Matters

Becoming a mother changed my life in many ways, some expected and some unexpected.  I expected the joy of holding my baby boy, the sleep deprivation, and the overpowering love I felt for this tiny person. What I didn’t expect is how becoming a mother would change the way I looked at the world and my role in it.

Suddenly, with the birth of this amazing child, what happened to the world became very important to me.  Peace mattered.  Good schools mattered. Clean water mattered. Great libraries mattered. Healthcare mattered. I quickly realized that although I had never voted in any election prior to his birth, voting was essential if I was to have any impact on the kind of world in which my son would grow up.

I carried my son to the polls before he was able to walk and continued to bring him with me as I voted over the years. He loved the curtain on the voting booth, the pencil on the chain, and the “I voted” sticker. Voting was part of his life from the beginning so it’s no wonder that he went to the polls the minute he could legally vote.  He is now a grown man who continues to experience both the responsibility and the joy of voting.

Wendy Wendt