Take A Moment and Consider Why We're Doing This

I just want to take my hat off to all of the moms out there who are getting involved in this campaign - from all parties - because it has become clearer to me over the past year how important it is to be involved, and how challenging it is to juggle everything when the stakes are high. No one will be putting off the election deadline if our kids get sick. Nobody'll step in and fill our shoes if something goes wrong at home. The things we commit to do for what we see as the greater good for our country and the world we do mostly on our own time.

Obviously I have my own reasons (that I outlined yesterday at SVMoms in a letter to my daughter) about why I'm putting in so much time and energy, but for those of us with young children who have to get childcare to do political organizing, stay up late at night after our kids go to bed in order to blog about the campaign or work with others online, it's not easy work. And for the moms who take their children with them to political events, get them involved in the process, and bring them to the polls, that's wonderful of you.

I began volunteering and working in politics five and a half years ago because of a candidate I believed in and I didn't find out until three years ago when I was pregnant that my mother had actually been helping run a statewide campaign when she was pregnant with me. Growing up, I never had any idea. My parents hosted political fundraisers occasionally and had introduced me to some friends of theirs who were elected and appointed officials, but my dad didn't talk much about when he was in the state Attorney General's office and my parents pretty much kept quiet about their political views.

In some ways I'm glad about this because I developed my own opinions independently through travel, talking with people, learning about history and world events, and reading books. But I wish my mother had told me that story of her campaign involvement when I was younger because it set a great example. So please share with your children your experiences and why you are involved in this election. Three cheers for those of you out there getting involved, most especially all of my MOMocrat friends who continue to impress me every day. What we have seen in the past few years in terms of women running and serving in government is astounding. And someday I hope to see two women running against each other for the presidency, proving gender is no longer an issue.

For now, in the last month of one of the most incredible election seasons I've ever seen, I personally believe that Barack Obama represents the best future for my daughter and I will continue to fight until he is sworn in as president of the United States to ensure the greatest safety, security, health and opportunity for her future. We're all in this for our children and it's important that they know it.

Comments

[Donna]

Thanks, Sarah, for the reminder. This is the first campaign I've involved myself in since college (a mid-70's "no nukes" ballot initiative that ultimately failed). In 2004, when my daughter was a 2nd-grader, we had lots of lengthy conversations (in the car, of course) about that election. I gave money to the Kerry campaign, but did not get involved. This year, I needed to do more. I'm proud that I got to take my daughter to our California convention and that she could watch the national convention knowing that I was there - that this is not some abstract thing that happens without her. She will remember this historic election, and hopefully, she will learn that we all make a difference.