True blue

One of Evan's favorite books these days is a cute rendition of The Little Engine That Could which his cousin Andrew passed down to him a few months ago. I'm unclear what it is about this book that makes it such a hit while dozens of others sit on the bookshelf ignored, but he brings it to us to read at least a few times a day, so clearly something in it strikes a chord.

Paul's recently noticed that in this version of the book, the train that breaks down is red and the one that saves the day is blue. He's decided that the book is making a political statement and that the author is making thinly veiled references to the blue and red states on the big election night maps all of the major networks use. As a Republican, he's deeply offended. And as a Democrat, I'm terribly amused.

We're a politically divided household here. Our votes routinely cancel each other out and Paul and I both spend a lot of time around major elections jokingly devising elaborate tactics to keep each other away from the voting booth. Paul even spent hours last fall trying to coach Julia to say she was a Republican, only to have her come home from our polling place and proudly tell him that Mommy let her press the button to vote for Kerry. Nothing could delight me (or annoy my husband) more than Evan's love of that little blue engine. Time will tell if our kids grow up to side with me or their father politically, but we'll both keep working them from every angle we can think of. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...