My husband called me from the voting place early in the morning and reported that the energy was sizzling, a photographer was documenting for the local press, people were chatting, and he encouraged me to come out and vote right away instead of waiting until later in the day.

The parking lot was indeed full when I arrived not long after, and an air of anticipation permeated the voting place. I felt an almost giddy excitement, the way children anticipate Christmas in the hopes for good things. The energy was indeed crispy and it wasn't even 9am yet. The election officers had arrived at 5am to be ready for when polls opened at 6. Several had their first or second of many coffee cups in front of them, anticipating a long and busy day, until 10 at night.

I could feel the spirit, the energy, the hopefulness at the polling place. No matter what your convictions, expectations, or wishes for this momentous and important election - in the end we all come from the same place of hope, anticipation, and a wish for a turn for the better. Voting is all the more meaningful when you know that every vote counts, as it does in the mid-terms. It looks like people have been jolted out of their voter complacency. It's encouraging. Democracy only works if we participate in it.