Tag Archives: Faith Family Football

Voting matters . . . even to kids

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There are many things in life, good and bad, that our children learn from watching us.  On the good end of the spectrum, one of the things I have hoped to model for my children is the awesome privilege it is to exercise our right to vote in America.  Since they were born, my kiddos have been carted to voting booths in car seats, in near blizzards, uphill both ways.  (Okay the last part was a bit of an exaggeration, but car seats and blustery conditions are not.)

Not all experiences even in a country as great as ours are innate.  Just like the mourning doves each summer in my backyard teach their offspring, we need to model for our children the voting process.  Hence the reason that I have taken my kids along every time I vote.  Is it convenient? No.  Is it easy? No.  Would I rather go to the polling place by myself? Not in a million years!

My kiddos have come to expect that during election season that we will talk about the candidates and what they represent.  Then on voting day, we find a table (or sometimes the floor where we can be away from the crowd), and I read each and every word on the ballot.  We then discuss which candidate for whom we are going to vote.  Then we (well, actually I) mark the ballot.  When we are done discussing and marking the ballot, we cast our official ballot (which has evolved over the years as technology has changed).

Even when we moved away from the Marshall area briefly, we exercised our right to vote using the absentee ballot system.  (My kids were crushed when they could not go to the polling place and when they didn’t receive an “I voted” sticker by mail.)  It was then that I realized that my goal of  trying to teach my children about the election process and civic responsibilities that they “got it”.  They understood the importance of voting, and it mattered to them that I take them along.

Yes, I have strong convictions about my voting and making my vote count, and I also have friends in just about every political ideology group possible. Voting with my children isn’t indoctrination; it’s an educational opportunity. I vote very differently from my parents and siblings, and someday there is a good chance my children will do the same.  And I am okay with that.  In fact, my tenth grade son created his own political t-shirt for Election Day espousing his “vote” for Jimmy McMillan for President – because “The Rent is still too high”.   He did it to be silly, but sometimes in a world of incredibly mean-spirited attack ads some levity is needed. At the end of the day, I know where his actual vote would be cast, but I didn’t impede his freedom of expression today.

Voting matters – even to our kids! So if you haven’t had a chance to make it to the polls today.  I really encourage you to do so, and if you have kids under the age of 18, I HIGHLY encourage you to take them along.  You might get a few stares (like I did this morning with 3 kids in tow waiting in line at 6:50 AM for my ward’s polling place to open), but you never know, you might get a few smiles from those that see a family voting together.

God Bless America!  God Bless You! And, please vote today!

11 Days to Go: We are Family

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I always get a kick out of calling my sister-in-law’s cell phone.  While waiting to talk to her, you get a rousing rendition of “We are Family” sung by Sister Sledge.  It always makes me giggle.  My definition of family isn’t confined to simple biological connections.  I think that God gave me a family of birth AND a much bigger family by His plans.  For both I am thankful.

But what I really want to talk about is one of the “families” that Reed belonged to and now, Sawyer does as well.  That family is the Lakeview Football Family.  This brotherhood is one that shapes a young man’s life, and often teaches them about more than a game with a pigskin ball.  When you get really good coaches as they all have experienced, you learn that football is a small part of your overall purpose in life.

All the Lakeview Lakers have learned about the 3 F’s: Faith, Family & Football.  For the current roster of players, they have known more than their fair share of adversity through the loss of teammates, friends, brothers, and fathers as well as supporting a coach’s family as they go through a battle with a bigger opponent than the other team. The injuries that are often synonymous with the game of football seem small in comparison to the burdens their broad shoulders have had to bear at such a young age.

While winning is fun, it certainly isn’t everything, and I would be hard pressed to find a more caring and giving group of young men.  Their character shows on and off the field.  When a friend or foe is hurt in the game, many take a knee and they pray.  When someone is hurting they show up or at least call, even if that means one is in one hospital and the other is another hospital miles away. Some even travelled over 430 miles to say a final goodbye to Reed. The bonds are deeper than 4 quarters on a grassy field.

In school they are leaders and they make a difference.  Some of them have quite a following among the elementary kids, who admire them not just because football players are cool.  But more so, it is because they are genuinely nice kids who aren’t too cool to “hang out” with kids half their age and a quarter their size.

At Reed’s Run, they are going to be present one last time honor their friend, classmate, teammate and brother.  They will be out there helping with the inflatables and selling concessions during the movie.   Their presence means more to my family than they will ever know.  The bond of brothers is one not easily broken.  Even though I am not a member of this team, I have more than once benefitted from their kindness, usually a hug when I needed it the most.  So I don’t care what any scoreboard ever says, their place in my heart will never change. I will always be a Laker fan.