Today, I do not want to be a reasonable, rational blogger. Today, I want to rant and rave and call names, but I do not believe in that. And I don’t want to model it for my girls.
And so, instead, I am making a gratitude list.
The Democrats have taken back the House, which is becoming more diverse in its membership, for which I am grateful. Not a perfect situation, in my opinion, as many Democrats are, shall we say, far from perfect, but better than where we’ve been.
We’re still counting votes in Georgia. (Which is an issue for a whole other day.) A progressive, black, Democratic woman may still be elected governor. I’d feel better about this if her opponent was not in charge of counting the votes. (Another of those issues for another day.)
I made a lot of new friends during this campaign, wandering around with my Stacey Abrams button and chatting with new and unlikely voters about things that matter. And waved at a whole lot of babies.
Students at Atlanta’s Morehouse College were waiting in line to vote at 11 pm, committed to being heard.
I kept my promise to my girls, who are growing up in this world.
Granted, the changes I believe need to be made are going to take a while longer.
But, Bernie Sanders got re-elected in Vermont and who knows what that might mean.
I have gotten a great deal more willing to speak out about the things that matter in the face of the need for peace and justice and civil rights in this nation. It’s a grandmother thing.
And, I’ve learned to make prayer dots.
A practice that does not hide from the world but, rather, faces the struggles and acts in hope.
I’ll be making a lot of dots today.
Along with a couple of pots of shrimp and crab broth. And a frittata with local, pasture raised eggs, left-over organic roasted veg and some over-the-moon local, artisanal duck and fig sausage.
I’ll keep voting with my wallet.
And with my faith in the future.
2020, here we come. Many of us with paintbrushes in hand!