Notes from the crib

George and I went to do our civic duty today. As you can see from the picture, George takes voting seriously.

The total time it took was only 22 minutes and that included the seven minutes it took me to get him into the Ergo backpack in the parking lot, a stop for pictures by the voting sign, and a trip for donuts on the way home. It appears over half the voters in our state took part in early voting, so our polling line was fairly short. Of course, we also got to go during off time.

I am not very coordinated in getting George into the Ergo by myself and must have looked like I was struggling in the parking lot, with George balanced on my back and me hunched over so he wouldn't fall off, trying desperately to get him to put him legs in the straps correctly so I could get them up on my shoulders. One grandmotherly lady in an SUV was driving through the parking lot and stopped and hopped out of her car, rushing over to help. She did her best and we got George's legs through the straps and then she went off to move her car. Then another lady stopped by to help me get him even more securely situated. I was grateful for their help. I wanted George contained before I took him into the polling place because I was afraid of what havoc he'd create otherwise. I definitely think I need more practice before I try to get him in the backpack by myself in public again.

Once inside there was no wait, although I did stop to give directions to two people who were at the incorrect precinct. Then we went through the sign in process, which required I speak to four different people! Then we went to our electronic terminal and voted for our candidates. George was interested in what I was doing and watched over my shoulder, while clutching his Mickey Mouse, which had ridden in the Ergo with him. As I was getting ready to selected the final "Cast Ballot" option, George even appropriately yelled out "Push button!" We both received stickers after voting that said "Yo voté" - George put his on my back.