It's All Over Now But the Voting...

No more negative campaign ads--well, at least, for the next several months. No more mailings. No more pre-recorded pleas from politicians on our voicemail (apparently campaign calls are excempt from the "No Call" lists).
Now it's just a waiting game to find out who won. Although, in New York, at least--if the polls are any indication--there's not much suspense. Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, and Andrew Cuomo (Democratic candidates for Senate, governor, and attorney general respectively) are leading the polls by wide margins. Even Alan Hevesi was still leading his Republican opponent Christopher Callaghan by more than 10 points after admitting that he not only misused taxpayer money to pay a state staffer to chauffer his wife around but covered it up and then underestimated the amount he owed in retribution.
But the expected results in other states are less clear. Democrats need to gain 15 seats to end 12 years of Republican control of the House, and six seats for the majority in the Senate. And, while initial polls indicate that the House majority is likely to shift after today's vote, the race for those half-dozen Senate seats is much closer.
My vote won't make much difference here, but I'm still planning to cast it. Good habit to get into. And what excuse do I have? I live 2 blocks from the polling station and this may well be my only major excursion today. I'm on day 12 of my maternity leave and I've completed all my to-do lists in preparation for our son's arrival. At this point, a trip to the gym feels like an accomplishment. While I still make plans with friends at night, by the time most of them are free to meet, I'm already beginning to fade. (My only friend who's not working is 25 weeks pregnant with twins and on strict bed rest). In the past two weeks, I've watched a dozen movies, read 3 novels and the newborn section of "What to Expect," and spent way too much money on baby and breastfeeding paraphernalia. My days have begun to revolve around meals and cable TV movies. I've made the occasional stab at something work-related, emailing colleagues so I don't feel completely out of the loop and compiling a growing list of potential freelance projects. But my motivation has been waning the closer I get to my due date since I know I may not have much time to follow up on any of them once our son arrives. At the least, voting is one activity I know I can complete, and it's free. (Has it come to that??)