While we wait

The good mom that I am, I checked with the boys a week or so back and said “Are you voting?” – Zachary answered in the usual Zachary way like I’m the dumbest person in the world and of course he’s voting and he probably is familiar with every single platform of every single candidate.  So that was a yes.  And although we didn’t discuss how he was voting I am positive we are on the same page, not that it matters, but you know it kinda does.  And then I asked Jimmy…

Jimmy was born in April 1991. So the first voting which was not a presidential vote, he would have been 7 months old. John has taken Jimmy to the voting booth EVERY election since Jimmy was born – even when he was 7 months old.  And Jimmy would always go. He never acted like he was too old or too embarrassed – he went into that booth with his dad and watched him vote.

Once when Jimmy was about 10 he asked if any Presidents had single mom’s.  I could tell he was wondering if he’d ever be qualified to be the President of the United States. Isn’t that something?

When he was a Junior in high school we were visiting colleges in Florida and we had one day at Disney – I told him to pick 5 rides and we would be sure to hit them – first thing he picked was the Hall of Presidents.  I didn’t see that coming.

So when I asked Jimmy if he was going to vote last week and he said “no” I was a bit stunned and wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him.  NO?  NO?  But the calm mother I am, I stayed calm and I said “WHAT?” He very defensively said things like:

• Mom they’re all assholes
• No matter who you vote for they all lie
• It doesn’t affect me at all
• I don’t even know who is running
• I’m not going to vote for someone just because my parents tell me to (and why not?)

So I calmly tried to see it through his eyes.  All politicians are basically assholes.  He’s not wrong.  There’s good ones out there but we probably only hear about the assholes.  I also think they all lie – just look at the commercials.  Sheeshhhh….

And on the very surface he is not affected by what is going on.  He is a white male, citizen, no religious affiliation (non practicing catholic if he’d have to choose), although one pair of his grandparents were immigrants they are dead.  He is successful at his job and makes good money.  There are no migrant workers coming into ADP to take his sales job.  And if they did Jimmy would become fast friends with them and invite them to his parties.

And he HATES the news so he doesn’t keep up with current affairs (although he did text me the day of the Squirrel Hill shootings and was very affected by that).  He has always hated the news (only watching the sports channels) and when he would come home from school and I’d be sitting on the couch watching the news he’d make me turn it off.  He says things like “why do you want to watch that stuff – it’s all bad and negative – turn it off” – I bet a lot of you didn’t know this side of Jimmy.  He is pretty easy going but he has his lines in the sand.  Watching the news is one of those lines.

So I agreed with him on the surface it doesn’t affect his day to day life and tried from a different angle – I asked him to think about the environment and how that is something that will build and affect him so that is something to think about when voting.  He didn’t disagree (phew) And I tried to explain that this is really about Trump and even though we’re not voting for a president there is a message to send – but again he said “so he’s an asshole – in 2 years another asshole takes his place” – I dropped it and decided in my 20’s I didn’t vote midterms either and it was hard to argue giving his point of view.

Last night Jimmy called.  He calls every Monday.  We were discussing what he was doing this week and he told me he was meeting his dad after work and voting.  YAY!  I asked if he knows who is running etc., he quickly cut me off and said he’d do his own research in the morning and he’s not going to vote for who his parents vote for (again, I don’t know why this is such an issue – but okay)– I said okay Jimmy I’m just glad you’re voting.  He shared that between me and his dad and his boss yelling at him he figured he would go ahead and vote.  Hey whatever it takes.  He said his boss yelled the most.

I know what he’s going to do.  He’s going to do exactly what his dad taught him all those years taking him to the polls.  When Jimmy was a teenager and still going to the booth every year with John I asked him what kind of advice his dad gives him when they go in.  He said his dad told him “what you do is scan the ballot and always vote for the Italians.”

God Bless America…

xoxox