Last night, the boys and I went to bed at 10pm not yet knowing who won the election. Anton wanted to sleep in my bed. I woke up at 3 a.m., checked my phone, and cried. The results were not good. Especially for women, immigrants, LGBT+ people, and the list goes on.
I was wondering what to write today. pickup? Action item? A moment of silence? It’s hard to know what to say. What kind words have you said to your friends and children? What about your lovely face reflected in the mirror?
One thing that gives me hope is remembering who we are. The photo above shows 16 delightful, caring, funny and smart Cup of Jo readers. A million more we. A million more! Good men, thoughtful women, smart teenagers, and giggly kids are all around us and they’re not going anywhere. And the benefits add up. Octavia E. Butler wrote, “There is no single answer that can solve all of the problems of the future.” “There is no magic bullet. Instead, there are at least thousands of answers. You can be one of them if you choose.”
This election is not the end of the story. Even though this country voted for Trump (such a deep, heartbreaking pain), we are still moving forward. Maya Angelou wrote: “We may suffer many defeats, but we must not be defeated. We may have to suffer defeat to find out who we are. So we were like, oh, that happened and I woke up. I fell down and stood up in front of the whole world. “I didn’t run away, I just got up from where I fell.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, think about something small you can do right now, a neighbor you can help, a text message to a loved one. Do you remember the starfish story? Thousands of starfish washed ashore after a storm. The little boy was throwing them back into the water one by one. An old man looked at him and said: “You will never be able to save them all. You won’t make any real change.” The boy picked up the starfish and said, “I changed this.”
Here’s the to-do list provided by Illustrator: Sophie Lucido Johnson:
As always, sending the biggest hugs and lots of love to anyone in need. xoxo And if you want and are able, please join us in donating to an organization that is doing great work. Cup of Jo is donating $5,000 each to two organizations, one large and one small. Ruth’s RefugeProvides furniture and other necessities to refugees, asylees and asylum seekers in New York City. and ACLUadvocates for the rights of everyone across the country, including reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, prisoners’ rights, voting rights, and more. Cheer up, friends. We are all here. xo
(The quote from Octavia E. Butler follows: Corinne Fay.)
