I have to say it: This past Halloween, the scariest house in our neighborhood was the one with the Trump/Pence sign out front. This election cycle should be the perfect opportunity to get our girls (OK, so Cecile, namely) excited for the thrilling, history-making possibility that Hillary Clinton could become our nation's first female president (oh man, knock on wood). But instead I find myself trying to dodge discussing politics around our girls entirely. Heck, I've spelled-out "T-R-U-M-P" over the morning paper just as often as I've spelled-out "I-C-E C-R-E-A-M" at the end of an evening meal.
Many may say that Cecile is too young and will not remember any of this. But she will. This was the first year she woke up on her birthday exclaiming, "It's my birthday!" without a reminder. Just a few days into the month of October she told me I was late putting up our Halloween decorations. And a few weeks ago she asked me to explain a New Yorker cartoon in which a girl says at her parents' bedside, "I had a nightmare that you and Dad woke up on the wrong side of history," and she still asks about it. She asks about the signs in neighbors' yards and on street corners, and after overhearing conversation between adults later asks why Trump is so mean to girls. His treatment of women is only the beginning his hurtfulness, I tell her.
I plan to take Cecile and Genevieve with me to vote on Tuesday. And I'll be voting for Mrs. Clinton--a women who has done her homework, dug her heels in, and can do the job well. I trust Clinton to care for the people of this great country, to be an advocate for women's rights, and to be a model leader for my girls. This year, I believe voting is more than just exercising our rights; it's standing up for them.
Many may say that Cecile is too young and will not remember any of this. But she will. This was the first year she woke up on her birthday exclaiming, "It's my birthday!" without a reminder. Just a few days into the month of October she told me I was late putting up our Halloween decorations. And a few weeks ago she asked me to explain a New Yorker cartoon in which a girl says at her parents' bedside, "I had a nightmare that you and Dad woke up on the wrong side of history," and she still asks about it. She asks about the signs in neighbors' yards and on street corners, and after overhearing conversation between adults later asks why Trump is so mean to girls. His treatment of women is only the beginning his hurtfulness, I tell her.
I plan to take Cecile and Genevieve with me to vote on Tuesday. And I'll be voting for Mrs. Clinton--a women who has done her homework, dug her heels in, and can do the job well. I trust Clinton to care for the people of this great country, to be an advocate for women's rights, and to be a model leader for my girls. This year, I believe voting is more than just exercising our rights; it's standing up for them.
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