Rock the . . . Boat?

Naim & Jane on Election Night

Late last week, Margot finally conceded that she would, in fact, vote for Obama and not Hillary. Claire immediately exclaimed, "Margot, you're not voting! Only grown-ups can vote." Margot turned to me in horror and said, "Mommy, is that right?!" She was bitterly disappointed when I confirmed that it was, in fact, true. I reassured her that Don and I would cast votes for our whole family, and she promptly responded, "Oh. So, when you go in to vote, you need to make five marks for Barack Obama, okay?"

On Tuesday morning, we (amazingly) managed to arrive at our polling place by 7:15 a.m., with all three girls in tow. We had, of course, talked all morning about the fact that we were going to go vote, and how important it was. As we waited in line for nearly an hour, Margot grilled the people around us about their voting preferences, while Claire inexplicably spent most of the time trying to peer through a tiny mail slot in the middle of one of the building doors. Jane maintained her usual level of enthusiasm, excitedly chattering to anyone who would listen. At one point, I heard her cheerfully announce, "We are all going to SPLASH!!"

After a moment of confusion on my part, comprehension dawned. "Not BOAT, " I told her, "Vote. We're voting. There isn't a boat here." She looked slightly disappointed when I explained that voting basically involved making some marks on a piece of paper. She came into the booth with me and carefully watched as I marked my choices. After she'd helped me turn the ballot in, I congratulated her on helping me to vote, and she flashed that adorable, wacky grin. As I picked her up to leave, though, she began wailing, "Mommy, WAIT!! Where are the boats? Where is the water? We want to splaaaaaash!"