The Iowa Caucus

Well, I did it. I went to the caucus although I'm still confused. Is "caucus" a noun or a verb? Did I Caucus? Or did I go to the caucus? Ok, wait, let me see.....sooo, my question is not so silly. I looked it up "Caucus" is used as both a noun and a verb. That's according to the Legislative Glossary of Terms. OK. I've got that behind me now...sorry. Moving on....

I arrived about an hour early, not knowing what the crowd would be like. Good thing I did. It was cold and windy and I was able to find a parking spot close to the building. I went in, found my ward, signed in and had a seat. Immediately I ended up with a sticker on me and snacks in my hand.

It was such a friendly place to be. We were all there to vote, perhaps for different people, but all with the same thing in mind. This country needs change, a BIG change. I saw several people I knew from my neighborhood, the school, church. It was really fun. Then it was time. The moment we had all waited for. We got in our selective corners, cheering for our candidate and counted, once, twice, three times. Then we went after those who had less than 15%. Then again, with the counting. It took about an hour once the doors closed. I had never "caucused" before and I'm glad I did. And I will again. It's more complicated and chaotic than what I'm used to, going downtown, filling out the form, got all day to do it, but it was an experience to remember.

OK, so my candidate didn't win in Iowa. But it's just the beginning. One thing I was so impressed with tonight was when we were all visiting, several people mentioned that all 3 of the front runners were good so we weren't voting "against" anyone and no matter the outcome we could feel good about this.

I should mention, I'm NOT a crowd person. In no way, shape or form. They freak me out. So this was not an easy thing for me. Thanks, Daddy, for encouraging me to do this. I experienced history tonight. I'm glad I did it.