Yesterday was big for America. The top story is of course the re-election of President Obama, but beyond that there were many other important issues at stake across the country. On my ballot, I got to vote on funding for education, financial support for the zoo and other public venues, the restructuring of the state’s three-strikes law, and the repeal of the death penalty. Some of you may have voted on the legalization of gay marriage, which is arguably the biggest issue of our time.

I’m not the most politics-savvy person out there, but I do make an effort to get informed on the current topics, and I always vote. If I don’t have a lot of time or energy for in-depth research on the propositions and measures and officials, I can at least make election season a time to reflect on and perhaps re-examine my beliefs about the way government can and should impact our lives. It’s probably not awesome that it happens as infrequently as it does, but hey, it’s better than nothing.

That said, four years is a long time. At the last national election, I was still pregnant with my older son, and then BOOM, yesterday I went to the polls with both him and my younger son, who’s creeping up on four months. I was proud to take them with and show them how the process works, but I was more proud that I was casting my votes with them specifically in mind. Although I like to think I have always voted for the good of the whole, with special emphasis on those who need government help the most–children, the poor, the sick–I’ve definitely started looking at my voting privilege differently since I had kids. Instead of just thinking about my vote, I now feel about it too.

When you have children, you’re no longer voting just for yourself, you’re voting for them–for what they do, for who they are, and for who they might become. What if we can’t afford private school and have to rely on public education? What if PBS lost funding and there was no more Sesame Street? What if one or both of them is gay? I’ll even admit that having children has complicated my feelings about abortion.

It’s one thing to vote for the vague “future of America”; it’s another when you realize that future is your own children.

Has becoming a parent changed your politics?

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