I'm back

I was noticeably absent at the election board on last Tuesday night. When I have run for office in the past, I have always been present for the official announcement of election night tallies, but this time I had to be somewhere else. Election night, was also my mother's 93rd birthday. She wanted me to be with her there in Little Rock, Arkansas.

My mother has been my support and inspiration all my life and I could not miss her birthday. So, last Saturday afternoon, I packed my car and drove the 830 miles to my childhood home arriving at about 5 AM on Sunday morning. All her children and the granddaughter that she raised were there.

On Monday I got to go with her to her water therapy class. Until recently, she has been doing water aerobics three days a week and helping teach the class when the regular instructor is out, but for the past few weeks arthritis has made walking more difficult for her and she is doing water therapy instead.

After a fancy dinner on the evening of the 11th where I learned by phone that I had made it through the primary I got to spend a little more time with Mother and my brothers, sister and niece, before getting back in my car at 6:30 AM on Wednesday morning to drive back to Greensboro. But now I am back, and ready to even more seriously get on the campaign trail for the next 4 weeks.

Hopefully we can find ways to inspire a few more people to come out during the general election in November. The 4.3 percent primary vote is a reflection of the extent to which people feel disconnected from the decision making that affects their lives. What I am most concerned with is making that connection seem and be real. We can do better.

I don't have anymore out of town trips to make any time soon, so now we can see what more we can do to let people know that this election can make a difference.