Final evening, 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 awakened with a begin, checked my telephone, and wept. The outcomes weren’t good — particularly for ladies, immigrants, LGBT+ people, the record goes on and on.
I thought of what to put in writing in a put up right this moment. Choose-me-ups? Motion gadgets? A second of silence? It’s arduous to know what to say. What type phrases have you ever been saying to your folks and kids? Your personal beautiful face within the mirror?
One factor that offers me hope is remembering who we’re. The photographs 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 wherever. 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 millions of solutions — not less than. You will be considered one of them if you happen to select to be.”
This election just isn’t the tip of the story. Regardless that this nation voted for Trump — such a deep and crushing heartbreak — we’re nonetheless shifting ahead. Wrote Maya Angelou: “We might encounter many defeats, however we should not be defeated. It might even be essential to encounter the defeat, in order that we are able to know who we’re. In order that we are able to 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.”
In the event you really feel overwhelmed right this moment, consider small issues you are able to do for now, neighbors you’ll be able to assist, family members you’ll be able to textual content. Keep in mind the starfish story? 1000’s of starfish had been washed up on a seashore after a storm. A bit of 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 record from illustrator Sophie Lucido Johnson:
Sending the most important hug to anybody who wants one, and a lot love, as all the time. xoxo And if you happen to’d like and are ready, please be a 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 giant: Ruth’s Refuge, which offers house furnishings and different necessities to refugees, asylees and asylum seekers in New York Metropolis; and the ACLU, which defends the rights of all individuals nationwide (together with reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, prisoners’ rights, our proper to vote, and far more). Cling in there, associates; we’re all right here. xo
(Octavia E. Butler quote by way of Corinne Fay.)
