For when they're in 2nd grade, it is decreed that they will have sticker albums

When I was little I used to play with my mom's old political buttons. They were so....old. She had buttons with names of men I sorta recognized. She and my dad would look at them, look at each other, and get all dreamy-voiced and retro-idealistic. They would tell stories about hope, and change, and uniting a country divided by issues like race and war. My parents were the straightest-laced liberals of their generation, probably, but they have hippie souls.

I bought these stickers months ago so I could put them in the memory boxes I keep for the girls. These will now live nestled among hospital ID bracelets from their births, the first drawings they made, first concert ticket stubs, and other bits of nostalgic, retro-idealistic ephemera. One day they can hold these bumper stickers in their hands and ask me about this time period in American history and I'll go all dreamy-eyed and tell stories about hope, and change, and new beginnings.

Quoting Dora

We did it! We did it! We did it! my daughter yelled through the gymnasium as we walked back to our car.

Actually, she did it. I just pointed to the buttons. She pushed. That's love - letting someone else's fingertip cast the vote you feel most optimistic about in memory.

At 2-and-three-quarters, E is just at the cusp of memory. I hope she will remember this.