Mother has never voted in any election, ever. When she was young, jury pools were pulled from the voter registration lists, and she was afraid she would be called to jury duty. The family moved from rural Arkansas to Lubbock, Texas, and then to Houston and finally to Dallas, where I grew up. Each move introduced her to a larger or more complicated cityscape and her fear of freeways, traffic, one-way streets, and really just anything outside her experience increased her worries about receiving a jury summons and having to negotiate a drive downtown.

Even after jury pools began being tied to driver’s licenses, she still never registered to vote. I don’t understand it. I’ve never understood it.

Mom allowed her fears to dictate her behaviors her entire life, and my life, too, until I moved out at 17. Maybe that’s why I’ve always tried to act in ways that challenged my fears. I guess I’ll always have to work on that.