Confessions of a Housewife

photo by Kevin Russ
by Amy Platon

I guess I’ll have to trip him on the way out the door. It’s all I can do at this point. There are only a few days left until my husband casts his vote for his candidate of choice and I have tried everything to change his mind. We are usually in agreement with our political views so this came as a surprise to me.

Before guessing which candidate we are voting for, know this- We feel that right wing or left wing, if a bird were to fly with only one, it would go around in circles. So, while we do vote in our party lines regularly for most offices we are independent when we vote for the presidential office.

Typically, our household politics go like this: I watch all the debates and read all the background information and I give him the “best of” review. He’ll read a few articles here, catch a couple commentaries there, but overall we see things through the same lens. And yes, I’ve probably been the neck that turns his head. But he’s a smart guy. He could do the research if he wanted to.

Although now, no matter how many you-tube speeches I show him, he’s convinced that he wants "the other guy" to win.

In past presidential elections, I have been forced to vote for the candidate that opposes the guy I feel shouldn’t win. In other words, I hadn’t been voting *for* a candidate-I had been voting *against* a candidate.

This election has changed all that for me. This time around, I am actually voting *for* a candidate. I am fortunate because, unlike some of my voter peers, I am energized about my candidate. I’m excited to vote.

I don’t think my husband has the same spark for his guy. Which I can only hope, doesn’t propel him to the polls. That’s what I’ve noticed about registered voters that don’t vote. If they don’t feel obligated to vote, then they have to feel inspired to vote in order to actually show up at the polls.

In our house, I’m the one who marks it on the calendar. I’m the one who updates our voter registration. I’m the one who knows which voting precinct we belong to. I enforce his obligation to vote. I’m curious to see if he votes without my usual scheduling.

I’ll let you know after…What’s that date again? *smile*

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