History teaches us a lot if we pay attention. Many of us thought she would win. All the polls showed her ahead. So we stayed home. The other guy won, and now the country, indeed much of the world, is in a mess as a result. Would you change that outcome if you could?

Do you feel like celebrating when the parking lot is overflowing and there simply is no room left for you? Me neither. Same with standing in long lines waiting for our turn? Well, no. But today, today was different. Very. Celebrate with me the surge of countless neighbors who joined me at my community’s senior center to vote. Celebrate the crowd. Create an illegal but safe place for your car. Hurry inside and take your place in line. Put up with it for a while. It won’t take long; truly it won’t. It’s important. Think your vote won’t make any difference? You are mistaken. It’s hard to imagine a more important election than this one and the one coming in two years.

Politicians in my state and in other places across the country are at this moment doing their darndest to keep us from voting. Trickery, deceit, racism, gerrymandering, nothing, it seems, is off the table in this battle to maintain power and cheat us out of this fundamental American privilege. Some of it is working. Not here, not in my town. Not for me.

My ballot included several amendments to the state’s constitution that would place more power in the hands of the wrong people. These guys will try anything.

I just proudly placed the “I Voted” sticker on my shirt.

Now it’s your turn. Celebrate.