The Patriot

If there is one thing in life that I thought I would never be interested in, it's politics.  

For one thing, I'm easily persuaded.  I change my mind like Cameron changes diapers.

For another thing, politics frustrate me.  I'm a little fish in a mighty big ocean, and no matter what people say, my vote is not going to make a difference.  

And since I'm on a roll, I have a few more things... 

Politics are boring.  

Half the time I don't know what they're talking about (and when I do know what they're talking about, it just makes me angry).  

Politicians (with very few exceptions) mostly just let me down.  

I despise conflict; and discussing politics and conflicts are like BFF's.

So, it's quite shocking (to me most of all) that since moving to Iowa, I've become a borderline political fiend. 

We've attended tea parties.  

 To my surprise, I wasn't bored out of my mind.

We've attended the straw poll.

 Also to my surprise, it was a lot of fun.

 We listened to debates. 

To my very great surprise, I found them debatably more fun to watch than the Superbowl Commercials.

So, this week when we had a chance to get up close and personal with one of the presidential candidates, you can bet I was drawn like a moth to a flame.
I wanted an autograph, a posed picture, and a handshake.  That's all.
So at 8:30 pm, we stuffed the kids into their warmest clothes, packed a bag full of goodies and headed out to a Mitt Romney rally.  

 Considering the fact that we had two kids and a baby in a car seat, we bee-lined it for the farthest back corner we could find. 

 

 That back corner happened to be next to the press box;

 it also happened to be next to a ladder which the press were using to take pictures, which Luke ever so slyly inched his way up until he was comfortably positioned on the best seat step in the house.  (He also played some jedi-mind tricks on the poor intern who was supposed to be guarding the Romney t-shirts and scored 2 free shirts for us both.)

 From our comfortable perch on the press ladder, we were the only ones (besides the press) who were eye-level with Mitt.  A fact that he took advantage of by making direct eye-contact with us on several occasions. 

Mr. Mitt was an impressive public speaker, and it was neat to see his whole family (his wife is darling; and his sons aren't too shabby looking either).

 At one point, in the middle of his speech, some protesters started stirring up trouble.  He handled it like a pro, and it fizzled out quickly.

 At the end of the rally, I grabbed Brooklyn and attempted to shoulder our way through the crowds to get to meet Mitt.  I knew it was a long shot, but miraculously, the crowds parted for us like the Red Sea.  We practically walked up the very front and got close enough to touch him when he started to head the other direction. 

We didn't get an autograph, we didn't get a posed picture, and we didn't get a handshake.

But we did get an awesome night with an awesome man in an AWESOME country.