vote!

Today was our second attempt to vote, and I'm happy to report that we were successful. On Friday, we headed down to the courthouse for early voting, but the line was two hours long, and Mike only had an hour and a half before he had to work, so we ended up leaving the line and going out to lunch instead. But this morning, the line was only 15 minutes long (though very steady) when we got there, so we were able to cast our votes with no problem. When we left, the line was longer than when we arrived, and stretched outside of the building, which is a big deal in a small town like this.

We're both excited and nervous about the election. There's so much riding on it, and for the first time in our lives, we aren't voting in a state that's essentially already been decided. In Illinois, we could cast all of the votes we wanted (either way), but the state would always go blue. Here, we might make a real difference. Our state could go blue for the first time since 1964, and could help decide the presidential race in favor of Barack Obama. It's a thrilling day, and it's a good feeling that we did our part to speak for the change this country so desperately needs.

Please, get out and vote.