"Are you ready, sweetheart?"

"I'm pretty sure I was born ready, Dad. I mean look who my parents are!"

"Well, this is your birthright, but not because of us, well I mean, it's obviously because of us but . . ."

"Dad, you're rambling."

"Right. I just mean, every person with the right to vote, should. It's not just a right, it's a moral obligation, a duty, a . . . "

"I know, Dad, let's go."

She holds up her keys and jingles them a little in her hand, grinning broadly. My ears are still ringing a bit from her squeals when she discovered the car in the driveway with a big red bow yesterday morning. Josh's eyes are sparkling. He does love to indulge her, almost as much as he loves to tease her.

"I knew we should have picked up absentee ballots."

"Daddy!"

But he just grins at her, dimples popping out to match hers. Then, he offers her his arm and escorts her out of the room. I follow along happy to observe them in their element. They've always been as thick as thieves. Even during a slightly rough spot in her early teens, she's always strove to make him proud, and he's never been disappointed in her.

Once we pull into the school parking lot, Josh quizzes her before we get out of the car.

"Do you know how you're voting?"

"Yes, Dad."

"We haven't unduly influenced you, have we?"

"No, Dad. You've influenced me just the right amount."

"Are you sure?"

"The power point presentation was very helpful."

As we take our places in line, I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of people here. Off-year elections are often overlooked. I wish Lulu could have voted in a Presidential election or the Mid-terms for her first time, but local government matters too! And there's a school bond issue that Josh is pretty passionate about.

"Did you know that you were due on election day?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm pretty sure I've been told that story about 400 times in my lifetime."

"400? Really?"

"Well at least twice a year for as long as I can remember. Once for the primaries and once for the general. Not to mention the large number of times I've heard it on campaign stops along the way."

She likes to tease us about being a political baby. She said she never had a choice but to fall in love with politics. She may be right. She's just lucky that no one has ever told her what election day really means to Josh and I.

"Well, it's a good thing you were early or you'd have to wait another whole year to vote."

"That would be pretty terrible." She says dryly. He grins at her wit. She gets that from me, but the dimples she flashes back are all him.

Josh beams at Lulu as she exits the poll booth and gets her sticker. He's giving her the same look as the day she took her first steps, and the day she recited the Preamble of the Constitution to her pre-K class, and the day she got her early acceptance letter to Harvard.

"How do you feel?" He asks her as he bounces in place.

"Fantastic!" She announces.

"That's my girl."

She really is.

We'll get to do this again in 3 years. Her brother won't be nearly as impressed by the process, but I have no doubt he'll cast his vote. Most likely with a lot more fanfare since it will be the Midterms and the news will probably cover it. Kind of ironic that the quiet one will have to deal with the hype. But it's all good. It's just part of being a Lyman.

On that way out of the building, we pass a couple of older ladies coming into the building. As Josh holds the door for them, they turn to Lulu and praise her.

"Thank you for voting, dear. You know, the future is in your hands."

Lulu smiles at them politely, looks them in the eye and says "Yes, Ma'am. So I've been told. Don't worry, I'm going to snap all my friends and tell them to go vote. After all, decisions are made by those who show up."