Vote!

                                                                                                
 

I can hardly wait to vote this year, and I hope you feel the same way.

My absentee ballot should arrive most any day now, and I intend to fill it out right away, and then hand deliver it to a designated location. I will miss walking up the block to the school and standing in line with my neighbors. I will miss thanking the polling officials for their service and then standing in the little booth where I mark my ballot, carefully, completely. I will miss getting the little "I Voted!" sticker to wear the rest of the day.  

When we lived in the country outside of Cleveland, Ohio, our polling place was the town hall a hundred years old. As I left the historic building, I always bought cookies or banana bread at the bake sale located right outside the door--another great American tradition. 

Voting feels good. Don't miss it, and encourage others to vote, too.

If you live in Iowa, you may receive a postcard from me, encouraging you to vote. I signed up with https://postcardstoswingstates.com to send postcards to registered voters in swing states. The goal is to send 13 million postcards, and according to the website 15.7 million postcards have been ordered!

One day I sat at my lady's writing desk in the living room to begin addressing and writing the prescribed message.

    I took a deep breath and lit a candle. 

    In an attempt to calm myself in this time of high anxiety, I whispered words from Henri Nouwen: "We make many attempts to establish the outer world as a safe haven...instead of finding a safe haven within and bringing that to the outer world." 

   I paused as I wrote the name of the recipient -- Martha or Terry or Sierra or Brandon-- and imagined them voting. 

    I wrote the message and signed my first name, a moment of connection.

    I addressed the card  to Storm Lake or Ottawa or Dubuque or Marshalltown and stamped it. 

    On October 26, as directed by the sponsoring organization, I will go to the post office and mail the 100 postcards. 

    I will continue to think about MariaElena and Thomas and Weiwie and Shannon and pray they exercise the right and privilege to vote. And maybe they not only will buy a cupcake as they leave their polling place, but will remind a neighbor to vote, too.

An Invitation: What are your voting plans? What memories do you have of voting? I would love to know. 

Some Reading Recommendations From The Past Week

1. Diana Butler Bass encourages you to vote and vote wisely. https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/no-pearl-clutching-allowed

2.  Nadia Bolz Weber shares why she is voting for the Biden-Harris ticket. https://nadiabolzweber.substack.com/p/why-as-a-woman-of-faith-i-am-supporting 

3.  I devoured the latest mystery by Louise Penny, All the Devils Are Here. Loved it!!!! I love all her books, but a bonus with the new one is that it is set in Paris.