At 32 weeks, one of the most memorable activities The Little Bean and I did was to walk down the hill slope to a school nearby to cast my vote in General Election 13, Malaysia.
The Other Half too.
The Little Bean was co-operative. No Braxton-Hicks. No cramps. Maybe The Little Bean understood the process of democracy involves allowing me to cast my vote without drama.
Mine was a fast and pleasant experience simply because the Polling Agents were fast to recognise that I am heavily pregnant (I was pulled out of a long queue to join a special lane for the old, infirm and pregnant, got my identification verified, asked to see a police officer manning the polling booth entrance, got my identification verified, left index finger inked, given one Parliamentary and State Legislative seat ballot paper each, marked my cross for each candidate of my choice, popped the ballot papers into its correct ballot boxes and left!).
The tough bit was the walk home. Uphill. Scorching sun. Bearable but if The House was any further I would have collapsed from the heat! The umbrella I had did its level best, I am sure.
The first thing that I headed for when I got home was to drink some cool Ribena!
The Other Half had to queue for his turn and only came back about an hour plus after I did. His shirt was all drenched in sweat but looked so happy to have fulfilled his obligation as a rightful citizen.
After a good Sunday home-cooked lunch with The Grandparents, The Little Girl, The Other Half and I went home to our usual abode at The Apartment in the city. We had on the day before stocked up on essentials just in case...you'd never know.
That night, dinner was served with the news on the TV but the local channels were all stalling and the results feed from Malaysiakini was more prompt. At The Little Girl's bedtime, we followed the routine and went to bed.
However, upon hearing The Little Girl snore, The Other Half and I got up excitedly to go online searching for more updates. He then gave up at midnight while I then stayed up that night eating mango yoghurt and followed the results of the General Elections online until about 1.30 a.m. when Barisan Nasional hit 112 seats simple majority.
The progress of the nation since then has been somewhat tense but that makes reading the daily news interesting again (it was really boring during 15 days leading up to the General Elections!). Facebook newsfeed is now alive with frequent updates not limited to just OOTD and photos of friends' BLD/holidays/kids/bakes but videos of speeches and the national anthem being sung with much patriotism.
Whatever the outcome is going to be in the days and months or even years to come only Allah knows.
I know this much:
Why did I vote?
I voted for my children's future.
I am sure you would have too.
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