Election

Overheard from the kitchen this morning...
"Guess who is going to run for president one day?  This girl!!"
"And guess who is going to vote for you?  This guy!  Wait, can you make cereal and candy cost less?"
"Uh, no.  I couldn't do that."
"Oh.  Darn it."

I have some very tender feelings about results of last night, from the national to local results.

Who I voted for in any of those elections isn't the point.  Whether my candidates all won, all lost, or a combination of both is also not the point.

The most striking thing to me is the division.  So many races so close to a 50% division, being decided by a very small (relatively) number of people.
I hope and pray that our leaders, from our small towns to our great nation, can look to this and realize that they have serious work to do.  It reminds me of when I ask children to help choose dinner and one says "pizza!" and the other screams "tacos!", while neither one is willing to take a few seconds to sit down and talk and realize that while those may be their first choices, both of them-and the rest of the family-would be thrilled with chicken.  As parents we teach even our young toddlers how to compromise and cooperate, I don't find it a far stretch that the same should be expected of those elected to lead the greatest country on earth.

That goes for us as citizens as well.  We have some serious work to do.
I have been shocked by the hate spewed from both sides of the aisle over the past few months.  How sad it is to see the name calling and the accusations, the blatant lies and fear mongering, the immature choices of "mature" adults.  

As I explain to my children this morning the results of the elections we have so closely watched, I will again remind them of the conversation we had in depth on Monday night.  Just like at school we respect our teachers even if we don't necessarily like them, we expect them to be respectful of all of those elected to lead-both those we voted for and those we didn't.  Name calling, gloating and complaining will get us no where.  Compromise and cooperation, learning from mistakes, being willing to admit when we are wrong, and moving forward with faith are the recipe for success-in all aspects of life.

And when it comes down to it, the most important things in life for my family will be what we do in our house, not what happens in the white house.