Final night time, the boys and I fell asleep at 10 p.m. with out but realizing who received the election. Anton needed to sleep in my mattress. At 3 a.m., I wakened with a begin, checked my cellphone, and wept. The outcomes weren’t good — particularly for girls, immigrants, LGBT+ of us, the checklist goes on and on.
I thought of what to jot down in a publish at this time. Decide-me-ups? Motion objects? A second of silence? It’s laborious to know what to say. What sort phrases have you ever been saying to your folks and kids? Your personal pretty face within the mirror?
One factor that provides me hope is remembering who we’re. The pictures above present 16 Cup of Jo readers — joyful, caring, humorous, whip sensible — and there are 1,000,000 extra of us. 1,000,000 extra! Good males, considerate ladies, sensible youngsters, and giggly kids are throughout us and aren’t going anyplace. And that goodness provides up. “There’s no single reply that may remedy all of our future issues,” wrote Octavia E. Butler. “There’s no magic bullet. As a substitute there are literally thousands of solutions — a minimum of. You will be considered one of them when you select to be.”
This election isn’t the top of the story. Despite the fact that this nation voted for Trump — such a deep and crushing heartbreak — we’re nonetheless transferring ahead. Wrote Maya Angelou: “We could encounter many defeats, however we should not be defeated. It might even be essential to encounter the defeat, in order that we will know who we’re. In order that we will see, oh, that occurred, and I rose. I did get knocked down flat in entrance of the entire world, and I rose. I didn’t run away – I rose proper the place I’d been knocked down.”
If you happen to really feel overwhelmed at this time, consider small issues you are able to do for now, neighbors you may assist, family members you may textual content. Bear in mind the starfish story? 1000’s of starfish had been washed up on a seaside after a storm. A little bit boy was throwing them again into the water, one after the other. An previous man noticed him and mentioned, “You’ll by no means be capable of save all of them; you received’t make an actual distinction.” The boy picked up a starfish and mentioned, “I made a distinction to this one.”
Right here’s a to-do checklist from illustrator Sophie Lucido Johnson:
Sending the largest hug to anybody who wants one, and a lot love, as all the time. xoxo And when you’d like and are ready, please be part of us in donating to organizations doing nice work. Cup of Jo is donating $5,000 to every of two organizations, one small, one massive: Ruth’s Refuge, which offers residence furnishings and different necessities to refugees, asylees and asylum seekers in New York Metropolis; and the ACLU, which defends the rights of all folks nationwide (together with reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, prisoners’ rights, our proper to vote, and rather more). Grasp in there, associates; we’re all right here. xo
(Octavia E. Butler quote through Corinne Fay.)
