Past/Present/Future

My mother died 19 years ago today. She was born eight months before women in the United States won the right to vote in August 1920, and once she reached voting age, took this civic responsibility very seriously.

So have I. Like my mother, I have voted for candidates from the Democratic Party my entire life. I've looked at the Republican Party's platform and candidates throughout the years, but never found them appealing. Social justice and helping those less fortunate have been key for me.

Today I filled out my mail-in ballot for local, state, and national choices. Today I voted for a woman to be President of the United States, one who is eight months younger than me, one who has devoted her life to public service.

She is hard-working, brilliant, and thoughtful, but not perfect. She has made some less than ideal decisions, as have we all. But Hillary Clinton has opened the door, and from now on, no matter the outcome of this election, girls will know that they too can be President.

If you look closely at this photo, which I took on a very wet morning at Lake Padden, you'll see a tiny orange dot just below the man's head. It's a knitted hat, worn by the baby being carried on her/his father's chest. 

That baby will never have known a time when only men ran for President. I'm smiling -- and so is my mother.   

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