It's an amazing time to be an American and the father of a young child.

As a journalist, I have an insatiable appetite for information and spend copious amounts of time consuming it. What's worse, I'm a big time politics junkie. I can't begin to imagine how much time I devoted to the election, both in following it and being a part of it. And I've relished every minute.

The best part, though, has been bringing Maddie into it, explaining to her why this is such a big deal and helping her understand why democracy is such a vital part of our great country.

It has been difficult. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try to explain why the possibility of a black man becoming president was such a transformative concept for the U.S., given our history of slavery and segregation.

We were driving home (in the Jeep, go figure) when I started into the conversation, and I quickly found myself stumbling. I couldn't figure out how to describe slavery so a 7-year-old would comprehend. And, more importantly, I started to worry about how she'd react. Maddie's an incredibly sensitive girl, and I felt it would be hurtful and upsetting to her. So, I stopped.

I spoke with my brother last week and explained my conundrum. He, having recently married a woman whose son is just a couple months older than Maddie, had the same discussion with him recently. He had explained that there was a time when blacks were forced to work for whites, but they didn't get paid. "That sucks" was the boy's response. Quick and easy, and he got it … essentially.

A day to remember 

We have early voting here in Indiana, so I took Maddie with me to vote the Saturday before the election. The line was about and hour and a half, but I brought my laptop and she watched Ratatouille with another little girl while we waited.

It was a great moment. I took Maddie in the booth with me and showed her how the machine worked; we selected our candidates, and she pushed the red button to cast our ballot. She seemed pretty excited about it, and I hope it's a day that stays with her forever.

Detailing our country's at-times sordid past can wait for another day. For now, I'm just thrilled that Maddie will grow up having no idea why a black president is out of the ordinary.