Mark got a wild hair a few weeks back, and decided it was time for him to contact all of our local and state and national representatives, talk to them, meet them if he could, and ask them what was going on. He said he felt like reading about it was no longer enough. So, he did. And lots of them called him back. One guy even invited our family to march in the county parade with him. So, we did.
I grew up being involved in local politics. My dad actually ran for the state legislature two different times. My mom was an elections judge for years. My parents went to mass meetings and party conventions and elections night count-down parties, often taking us along. I remember when I was a teenager, going door to door as part of a voter registration campaign. I have no problem dragging my children into civic experience. We even took them to the "politicians forum" at the county court house. They were pretty good sports about it, since it ran way past bedtime, and there was a county fair going on outside.
For the parade, we were all given campaign t-shirts. The girls were each given a bucket of candy to pass out. Mark pushed the stroller, and I got to ride in the Model T. I was in the back seat, but they told me to honk the horn. So, I did. I aimed it at every little kid who made eye contact with me, and honked. The kids loved it...although Gabba told me at the end of the parade that I sounded like a sick goose. Oh, well. Who cares? It was a parade. And it was fun to watch their faces light up, and they would turn to their mom or dad and say, "she saw me! she honked at me!" There was one down syndrome young man that I honked at. He lit up, and got out his make-believe "air horn" and mimed honking right back. We waved at each other and grinned.
Gabba and Lucy had a great time passing out candy, but they were slow going. We were near the front of the parade. The only ones in front of us were the county royalty in the sporty cars. Those drivers thought it was a race, because they pretty much just took off. There was a huge gap between us and the sporty cars.
Not that the girls cared. They were very serious about making sure EVERY kid got a piece of candy from us. It was a very serious matter to them, I think. I didn't get a picture of Eliza, but she was really into it, cute little thing.
It was a short parade route, and since we were near the front, we were done pretty quickly. I wanted a photo of us with our Representative, so I snagged a guy to take one. You'll notice the conspicuous lack of Hyrum. He was at a sleep over, and really had NO interest in marching for a political campaign in a parade. Eh, I let it slide. He had been such a good sport about the politicians forum, and that was kind of a big deal to me.
Mr. Thomson let each of the girls grab a few pieces of candy, and then we began the walk back to the beginning of the parade route and to our van. I thought about just sitting down and watching the rest of the parade - I love the marching bands! - but we had a busy day ahead (including our family assignment to clean the Chapel), so we headed back through side streets, where occasionally we would catch a glimpse of the parade, still going on.
When we got back to where we had started, there were still parade entries waiting to go. So we sat in the shade and watched the tail end. It was mostly the rodeo club and the 4-H livestock winners and the veterinarians...you know, the animal entries at the very end so no one else has to march through manure. In this picture, the girls got to meet a true miniature horse, which is, we were informed, much smaller than the smallest pony. Of course, anything horse and everything miniature thrills my daughters.
So, we sat in the shade, eating our candy, and talking over what we liked about being in a parade, and gleefully accepting all the freebies that the passing parade entries were handing out. Yesterday evening, Mark and I took our little band of phoglets to the polls with us. Mark and I voted, and then we left. All of the girls got "I voted" stickers. Hyrum didn't care either way. As we left, Gabriella said, "So, when do you vote?" We told her that's what we were doing. "Oh, that doesn't seem like a very big deal!" So, yeah. Lots of civic education and involvement to go. But it was a neat experience.
I grew up being involved in local politics. My dad actually ran for the state legislature two different times. My mom was an elections judge for years. My parents went to mass meetings and party conventions and elections night count-down parties, often taking us along. I remember when I was a teenager, going door to door as part of a voter registration campaign. I have no problem dragging my children into civic experience. We even took them to the "politicians forum" at the county court house. They were pretty good sports about it, since it ran way past bedtime, and there was a county fair going on outside.
For the parade, we were all given campaign t-shirts. The girls were each given a bucket of candy to pass out. Mark pushed the stroller, and I got to ride in the Model T. I was in the back seat, but they told me to honk the horn. So, I did. I aimed it at every little kid who made eye contact with me, and honked. The kids loved it...although Gabba told me at the end of the parade that I sounded like a sick goose. Oh, well. Who cares? It was a parade. And it was fun to watch their faces light up, and they would turn to their mom or dad and say, "she saw me! she honked at me!" There was one down syndrome young man that I honked at. He lit up, and got out his make-believe "air horn" and mimed honking right back. We waved at each other and grinned.
Gabba and Lucy had a great time passing out candy, but they were slow going. We were near the front of the parade. The only ones in front of us were the county royalty in the sporty cars. Those drivers thought it was a race, because they pretty much just took off. There was a huge gap between us and the sporty cars.
Not that the girls cared. They were very serious about making sure EVERY kid got a piece of candy from us. It was a very serious matter to them, I think. I didn't get a picture of Eliza, but she was really into it, cute little thing. 
It was a short parade route, and since we were near the front, we were done pretty quickly. I wanted a photo of us with our Representative, so I snagged a guy to take one. You'll notice the conspicuous lack of Hyrum. He was at a sleep over, and really had NO interest in marching for a political campaign in a parade. Eh, I let it slide. He had been such a good sport about the politicians forum, and that was kind of a big deal to me.
Mr. Thomson let each of the girls grab a few pieces of candy, and then we began the walk back to the beginning of the parade route and to our van. I thought about just sitting down and watching the rest of the parade - I love the marching bands! - but we had a busy day ahead (including our family assignment to clean the Chapel), so we headed back through side streets, where occasionally we would catch a glimpse of the parade, still going on.
When we got back to where we had started, there were still parade entries waiting to go. So we sat in the shade and watched the tail end. It was mostly the rodeo club and the 4-H livestock winners and the veterinarians...you know, the animal entries at the very end so no one else has to march through manure. In this picture, the girls got to meet a true miniature horse, which is, we were informed, much smaller than the smallest pony. Of course, anything horse and everything miniature thrills my daughters.
So, we sat in the shade, eating our candy, and talking over what we liked about being in a parade, and gleefully accepting all the freebies that the passing parade entries were handing out. Yesterday evening, Mark and I took our little band of phoglets to the polls with us. Mark and I voted, and then we left. All of the girls got "I voted" stickers. Hyrum didn't care either way. As we left, Gabriella said, "So, when do you vote?" We told her that's what we were doing. "Oh, that doesn't seem like a very big deal!" So, yeah. Lots of civic education and involvement to go. But it was a neat experience.
3 comments:
Sounds like you guys had fun! Now the girls can brag about being able to be in a parade!
I love it that you got to ride in the buggy and honk the horn -- I love parades too!
How fun! And how cool that you get your kids involved in all that!
Good luck with the last month of pregnancy! You're almost done!!
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