I knew it was a long shot when I asked him, but I tried anyway.

"Guillermo, Barack Obama is going to be in Raleigh tomorrow. Would you like to go listen to him speak?" I asked my 4-year-old cheerfully as he was taking a bath.

"No," Guillermo answered flatly.

"Are you sure??There will be a lot of people and it will be outside. We’ll have to wear warm clothes because it may be cold, but it should be pretty exciting," I said.

“Will there be games?” he asked.

“No, but we could have a picnic and play, you, me, and Maya, while we wait for Obama to speak. That would be fun.”

“No,” he answered.

I paused my attempts to persuade him, knowing that even if he agreed to go, the day likely would be miserable for all of us. What preschooler wants to stand outside for hours to hear a politician speak for 20 minutes about health care, taxes, the economy and other things he doesn’t care about or understand?

What preschooler wants to hear anyone speak about anything for 20 minutes? Perhaps if Superman landed in Guillermo’s school one day and gave a 20-minute speech, Guillermo might listen to the whole thing, but the speech probably would have to include some flying demonstrations or Superman bending steel beams.

Still, I wanted to go and well, someday, I thought, Guillermo would relish in telling his college friends that he heard Obama speak during his historical bid to become president, just a week before the election.

So, after I helped Guillermo out of the bathtub, and as I was drying him off, I tried again.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see Barack Obama?” I asked.

“No,” he replied.

“Guillermo,” I said in a softer voice. “I think going to this speech could be one of the highlights of your whole life, something you’ll want to share with your own kids one day. You’ll be able to say ‘I saw Barack Obama speak when I was just 4 years old with my mom and sister.’”

Yes, I knew that at that moment the highlight of Guillermo’s life in his mind was trick or treating on Halloween. But, I had to try. I love that North Carolina has become a swing state because it seems to add some excitement to the air. I love that the candidates pass through the state frequently now. I like watching campaign commercials and reading campaign mailings. I’d even welcome the robo-callers, but they never call.

So, here I was, just days away from the election and the candidate who has the lead in national polls is going to be just 40 minutes from my house. Surely, you would try to go see him too, even if it meant you had to bring not just your 4 year old, but also your 2 year old? No? Well, I gave it my best shot.

“I think it will be a lot of fun,” I told Guillermo.

“No,” he said as he put on his pajamas.

I really wasn’t disappointed. Like I said, I knew it was a long shot.

Instead, we spent the day playing at home, snuggling up with books, and decorating our car for a trunk-or-treat event at his school. And, in the long run, I hope those are the kinds of memories he shares with his kids one day.

Natalie appears Sundays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Natalie at her blog A Day at the Park.