I voted!

I even went online early and requested a vote by mail ballot.  I researched my answers and I carefully filled in bubbles.  I sealed the envelope and kept my stub.

But when the time came to mail the envelope back, it didn’t feel as ceremonious and patriotic as I wanted it to.  Four years ago, Brad and I waited in line in the Downtown Orlando Library for hours on end.  We made friends with the people surrounding us.  We held a spot for a lady who had to go feed her meter.  And after we voted, we watched as our votes helped make Florida a Democratic State.

We watched in a pool bar off of Colonial with our friends from Citrus as our country voted Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.  We jumped and we cheered and we cried.

It was epic.  We were part of a community that was making the world change.  Making things happen.

Mailing in my ballot last week didn’t feel so epic at all.

So I held on to that envelope and turned it in today at a Voting Center while Brad filled out his own ballot.  For both of us, it took no more than six minutes.

And I got my sticker.

I am very proud to be wearing that sticker.  Some people dedicate their lives to politics and to how the government is run.  Their careers are spent keeping this country safe and keeping freedom free.

I don’t know much about politics.  And since I’ve moved far away from Washington DC, I hear much less about the government on a day to day basis.  Brad and I dedicate our lives and careers to the culinary world, so having this one day where we can educate ourselves and make a difference in how our country operates means a lot.

This election day in California, proposition 37 managed to cross the culinary and the political worlds.  Believe me, I voted Yes for the required labeling of genetically altered foods.  I even asked around at the Farmer’s Market last week to see if any of my favorite farmers would be affected by the changes.

Their answers?

“We don’t use, grow or sell any genetically altered foods, so it shouldn’t affect us at all.”

Shouldn’t all produce suppliers have the same answer?

For the rest of the day, I will have my fingers crossed and my Twitter feed close by – waiting for results and for answers.  Waiting for the game plan for the next four years.  And hoping it is one that is positive and right for the majority of the American people.

As Brad yelled as he exited the Polling booth, “Woo!!  Democracy!!”

xoxo