Vote Early, Vote Often

I voted today. I always get very emotional when I vote; really, I tear up. I am moved by seeing democracy in action. I'm proud of the folks who volunteer to work the polls, and I'm proud of how civil people are to each other in line, chatting about the weather and the cute baby waiting for his mom to vote, talking about all kinds of things except who we'll be voting for. That's as it should be, of course. A vote is a personal thing.

For the first time in our marriage, my husband and I will not be canceling out each other's votes. We keep shaking our heads over this. Something serious must be going on for us to cast our ballots for the same candidate. It is possibly a sign of the coming Apocalypse, which is to say this could be a good time to invest in an underground shelter and start stocking up on canned goods.

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If you don't hear much from me for the rest of the week, it's because I'll be altering Jack's Storm Trooper costume for Halloween. This was his big birthday present when he turned nine. I swear to you I ordered the large child size costume, but what we got was man-sized. Of course, Jack put it on and got it dirty before I could return it, so we're stuck with it, and it wasn't cheap.

The good news is, Jack is a tall kid, and the bottom half of the suit actually fits reasonably well if you ignore a little bit of a droopy drawers effect. The bad news is, the bottom half is attached to the top half, and the top half is humongous. Jack's chest is twenty-two inches; the costume's, forty-four. The sleeves are half a foot too long.

Well, I complain a lot about Jack being oblivious, but here's where having an oblivious child comes in handy. As long as I don't totally mess it up, Jack probably won't notice how goofy my alterations are. I'm going to separate the top and the bottom, put an elastic waistband in the pants, and see if I can pull in the seams of the shirt. Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me again by next week, assume the worst.