In which I admit I am a sap for democracy. And cute old men.

My Guy and I had a hot date tonight.

We voted. Yeeeeeaaaaahhh!

Thank God / Allah / Buddha / Oprah for early voting. Seriously. It was awesome. And God love the retirees who run the show.

We waiting in line for about half an hour, but the line moved quickly ... partly due to My Guy's jokes about there being a lot of folks in line who obviously weren't white, male landowners.

And then we got in and sent through the line. At one point while I was waiting, I turned to the volunteer and thanked her for doing what she was doing. She put her hand on my arm and said, "Honey, we've been busy all week. It's so exciting! I just love it!"

I wanted to make her a pie.

So I got through the line and went to my station. For the first time, I pulled up my notes on my iPhone to make sure I voted for who I wanted to vote for (sorry, some of the judges get confusing). Then, I turned my little card in to the retiree who was also handing out "I Voted" stickers. I smiled.

Sticker Guy smiled back. "First-time voter?"

I laughed. "Umm, no."

He grinned. "Am I close? Close but not quite?"

I made a mental note to a) continue with the sunscreen; and b) never discount the flirting prowess of the over-80 set. "Not close," I said. "But keep on thinking whatever you're thinking."

Which probably sounded dirtier than I intended.

I met My Guy outside. "Hey, smiley," he said. "Geez, you really like voting."

"Yeah, but Sticker Guy just asked if I was a first-time voter! You're so lucky. Your old lady looks so young and foxy," I said.

"Umm, I think old guys just have game," said my completely unappreciative spouse.

Now, I will admit that when we walked out into the beautiful night, I pumped my fists. "I love voting!" I bellowed.

"Yeah, but our votes won't count because of what state we're in!"

"Yeah, but at least we tried," I countered. "I mean, 100 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to vote."

And then I got choked up.

That wasn't that long ago. And yes, I might be a teensy bit PMSy, but c'mon - what a huge deal. It made me feel giddy.

So, I pulled myself together. Then, we celebrated democracy at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  I *heart* America.