Election Day and Family Pictures

LaBar brothers and wives via photopin (license)

Yesterday and today have been very stressful for me. Not only because we are choosing a new president in the United States, but I had scheduled family pictures on the same day as election Tuesday! What was I thinking?

Family pictures shouldn't be stressful, but when you have eight children in your family, and you want them to coordinate somewhat, it becomes a huge undertaking! Yesterday alone I went to the mall twice with two different children and hiked over to Kohl's and then finished up with two trips to Wal-Mart. It was crazy! We first decided to have the boys in blue and grey and the girls in pink. But it's not the right season for pink, so we were having a terrible time finding something pink. After several stores, I finally found a purpley-pink shirt that I loved and looked good in, so I bought it. 

But when I brought it home, it clashed with the other pink.  I might have gotten a little annoyed/frustrated/teary when I realized how badly it clashed and I was back to square one. I was just over the whole thing by this point and thinking we should all just come in our favorite jeans and a t-shirt.

Once I'd had a good night's rest, I ended up wearing a bright blue shirt I already had and we all coordinated. A miracle, really. Although I'm sure there will be more than one awkward family pose. Which we'll all laugh about later, right? Have you ever had an awkward family photo? 

In between the shopping and pictures, I went and voted for a new president. It was a 45 minute wait in line for me, and the saddest thing that happened was the lady in front of me waited all that time, then when she got to the front was told she was in the wrong place. I felt so bad for her! She was mad. The other odd thing was the music playing overhead the speakers while we voted was kind of angry-sounding music. I wondered if that was supposed to be sending us a message.

Tonight we've been glued to our TV, sitting here watching the results come in. One thing is clear, no matter who wins, it is always gratifying to see the power of the people in action. Every vote counts. Every vote matters.

Did you vote?