disillusionment

after such a long & heated presidential race and an emotional election day with record numbers turning out to cast their votes for the next ceo of the united states, one might assume that a post of this title would involve strong political views and a reference to our new president elect.

if that's what you were expecting, i would like to apologize becuase you were wrong.

those who know me better might be expecting something about the twins or about halloween candy.

you see, after years of living overseas, i have come to appreciate many forms of government and many political views. there were aspects about both candidates i liked and aspects i did not. there is no one perfect governmental system or ideology. things that work in the u.s. would not work in other countries and things that run smoothly over there would never go over with the american populace. i do not see things like socialized medicine as the road to an evil government. nor do i think that tax breaks for businesses that provide jobs (and health insurance) are entirely unfair. things are not so black and white in my opinion.

we have to remember that, even though we may disagree with some of the ideologies of either (or both) candidates for president, they both love the country. they both want what is best for the people of the united states. neither one is the anti-christ. neither one is a terrorist. and, ultimately, no one comes to power whom GOD has not allowed to rise to that position.

so, no, my disillusionment does not come from whom the american people elected as the 44th president of this country.

my disillusionment came yesterday, long before the polls were closed, at chick-fil-a.

i had heard about all of the election-day freebies and special offers around town. so i made a plan. first stop: chick-fil-a. a free sandwich for me & some nuggets for the boys. then i was going to make my way to the nearest starbucks for some coffee, and perhaps even find some ben & jerry's or a krispy kreme to top off the day. my plan was scrumptious.

unfortunately, it was foiled at my first stop.

at chick-fil-a, they had drawn a clear line in the sand. no one was to receive a free anything without the official "i voted" sticker. having taken my civic duty seriously this year, i had realized several weeks ago that standing in line for who knows how long with one year olds was not such a good idea. so i mailed in my ballot. the problem with that? no sticker for me. and the chicken sandwich nazis equated that with no freebie for me.

so i was a little disappointed. but i understood that they needed to draw a line somewhere so as not to be taken advantage of. so, i bought my sandwich (and fries, and sprite) and ate an enjoyable lunch with the munchkins.

then, on my way out, in walked a group of at least 25 pimply-faced kids. some still had braces. a few were sporting the splotchy facial hair of teenage boys. someone even wore a sweatshirt sporting the name "grandview high school." affixed nicely on each trendy shirt was a little oval "i voted" sticker. last time i checked, you had to be 18 to vote. unless we are referring to the world-altering election of homecoming queen.

according to the rules of chick-fil-a, each one of those i'm-sorry-my-voice-just-cracked teeny boppers in their leggings & mini skirts got a free sandwich.

and i didn't.

i was so irritated i didn't even try starbucks, ben & jerry's, or krispy kreme.

instead, i went home and had some milky ways for dessert after realizing that we have no more peanut butter cups. just one more moment of disillusionment.