Yesterday I cried all over town. I cried in the grocery store, during the first grade assembly at school and in the bathroom away from the eyes of my children. Yesterday I cried and today I woke up ready to… what? Fight? Move on? I think that’s the biggest question. What’s next?
First things first, do not discount what we have achieved.
On Tuesday, a majority of voters walked into the voting booth and cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton. We’ll deal with the fact that that doesn’t grant her the presidency in a moment. Although I am heartbroken by the results of the election, no one will take away the moment my daughter and I cast my ballot together.
And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams. – Hillary Clinton
Listen to the good
It is easy to be terrified by the news, the reports of violence and rioting. There is real fear in this country and it is greater than anything I will ever know on a personal level. It is mildly helpful for me to turn to smart, rational voices that are saying the things that we need to hear. Perhaps start with Aaron Sorkin’s letter to his daughter.
It is Possible for Trump to Be a Good President – New York Times
Leslie Knope on Donald Trump’s Victory
We figure out how to fight back, and do good in this infuriating world that constantly wants to bend toward the bad. And we will be kind to each other, and supportive of each other’s ideas, and we will do literally anything but accept this as our fate. – Leslie Knope
This poem was shared several times by friends of mine and I, a person who rarely turns to poetry for solace, find it incredibly powerful.
As I write this, I’m scrolling through my Facebook feed and seeing more and more evidence of the reality of this election. I do not discount that this is a terrifying time for many people. Which brings me to my next point.
Do Something
The world is not ending today, or tomorrow. This is a fantastic list of places that can use your time, your money, your voice and your support.
Consider adding your name to this petition to the electoral college to urge them to name Hillary Clinton as President on December 19th.
Continue to practice kindness, to be the voice for the voiceless, to say something when you see something. Teach our children to be a part of the solution.
Find Your People
The internet has been a source of great solace and great heartache for me over the past several months. The only thing that keeps me from deleting all of my social media accounts and sticking to a steady diet of Friends reruns are the people that I have found that convince me that the world is filled with good. Find your people in real life, find them on the internet, find them in books and on television and do what it takes to remind yourself that you are not alone.
Take Care of Yourself
It has been suggested that Hillary supporters just need to calm down already and I’m not even going to dignify that with the middle finger response that it deserves. If you are struggling, please take care of yourself. This image, also widely shared among my corner of the internet, is a great place to start.
Do the things that it takes to be okay. Hide the voices that hurt your heart, watch the shows that feel comforting, play the music. Lin Manuel has promised us new Mixtape releases this week, and for that we should all be grateful.
We know that this is a huge departure from the norm for us, and we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming of makeup and candy, soon. We’re all going to need the distraction of crazy taste tests in the coming days.
I feel ya, sister(s). I spent yesterday, in my jammies all day, wandering around the house–feeling like I was coming down with the flu and sadder than I’ve been in a really long time. Today, I’m better and even managed to have lunch with friends who most certainly voted on the opposite side of the ballot from me. As for social media, I’ve hidden so many friends and family in recent weeks that my feed is all kittens, all the time. I highly recommend taking that path–at least for the near future. 🙂
Yep – I cried and cried, too. Thank you for sharing this.