A Field, An Election and A Tradition

For which other activity would I be excited to drag seven small children out on a cold, rainy day? Election Day is one of my favorites of the year since moving to a smaller town, but I can assure you that my giddiness stems not from being thrilled about the candidates from which I have to choose nor a delight in politics in general.

 

 I am thankful for my heritage as an American, and I want to set a good example for my children. I also believe it would be an affront to the men who died to give me the right to vote for me to neglect this act. These are reasons to vote that, for me, stem from duty. I vote because I should. (Coming in farther down the list is the rule at our house which says, ’If you don’t vote, you can’t complain’. My desire to complain is also a motivator.)

 

But the reason I get excited about Election Day stems from family tradition. In the Mr. Visionary family, we have Brunswick Stew for dinner every Election Day. In our part of the South, every cold-weather event is celebrated by the making of this stew in 50-gallon cast iron pots stirred with long wooden paddles. Part of the mystique of this meal is it’s being stirred for 12 hours or so by women with names like Sissy, Nita, Becky-Sue and other hyphenated names, which just cannot be re-created at home. So, we happily buy it at the Fire House and have it for dinner (along with corn bread, of course) that very night as we listen for the election results on the radio. Let the record show that any tradition that involves not cooking is good…no matter how I feel about politics.

 

And so, a few words from the Mr. Visionary Family Children:

'I loooove Brunswick Stew, and I love seeing all the neighbors! I'm glad we have a chance and the right to vote. (And it is fun to see inside the Fire Station.) I'm glad we have the right to vote bad people out and good people in. Thank God for our liberty.' ~Literary Lady

'When we walked in the Fire Station, Mom went up to a booth and pressed some buttons on the screen to vote for people. She asked a lady to take our picture so we could blog it. Then we went into another building and bought Brunswick stew and baked goods. I'm glad we can choose the people we want to vote for instead of someone else deciding for us. I am so excited when the person who we voted for wins. ' ~Flower Child

'I like being in this country because it is easy to vote. People in other countries have to wait in line five or six hours just to vote. In places like Iraq, people who come to power usually fight to come to power, and the people don't even get to vote about it. We are very blessed here because we can actually vote for the people who run our country. God has blessed America.' ~The Engineer

'I like being homeschooled so I can go on a field trip to vote with Mom. Even though we have to vote, God really decides who is going to win. I'll be glad when the election is over so our phone won't be ringing off the hook all day. When we got to the Fire Station, there wasn't much Brunswick Stew left in the pot. I love Brunswick Stew!' ~The Dreamer

'I like the truffles that we got at the Fire Station. Mom started pressing different buttons, and every time she pressed a button it went to a different screen. I hope Mom voted for a good person. The lady who was helping Mom get the voting machine started was giving out stickers. And one more thing...I liked the cookies...and I like Brunswick Stew. God bless America.' ~Little Napoleon

'I saw Mrs. Clark. She gave me cookies and I looked in the big pot.' ~Doodle

'I had a nice nap.' ~Babydoll

 

 

 Election Day Field Trip...it's good to be an American.

      

Stirring the stew...and Little Napoleon peeking at it cooking.