Once again, my plans have been derailed by a sick toddler.  I am/was an election judge for the election tomorrow.  I went through a four-hour training exercise, and then through another two hours of practice at election headquarters.  I have read my approximately 150-page Election Judge Handbook twice. 

Tonight, I was supposed to go to my assigned polling place and help with setup.  This is the night when the booths are assembled, things are sorted, and stations are assigned.  Then, when the judges show up at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, there is not too much left to do.  On my way out of the door, though, Dom puked on me.  It was a beautiful projectile puke, an 11 on a scale of 1-10.  I changed my clothes, still determined not to miss setup.  And he did it again.  This time, he wrapped his arms around me and whined, “Hold me, Mommy.” 

How could I leave?  How could I put working during an historic election above my son’s need for me?  So I changed yet again and I called my Chief Election Judge to explain the situation.  I went ahead and told her that working Election Day is off the table, too, since even a 24-hour bug can’t clear up that fast.  She called the Board of Elections and got a replacement.

I feel guilty because I promised to help and can’t.  At the same time, I know that someone who was merely a standby judge now has a chance to work during the election.  It is not that I am irreplaceable…it is that I broke a promise.  I don’t do that.  But, since this is just my first such decision as a Mommy, I am sure that there will be times that I have to break promises in the future.  I just hope it gets easier!

Tomorrow, while others are working this historic election, I will be at home cleaning up puke.  And someday, I will tell Dom that this was all his fault that Mommy was not able to be part of the biggest election of her voting lifetime.  That should rate me jewelry, right?