It’s Thursday, two days after the 2024 election, and like many people, I still haven’t quite managed to get my head around the disappointing (putting it mildly) decision by a majority of the American people, to re-elect Donald Trump. After all the criminal charges, the felony convictions, the January 6 insurrection, his bizarre speeches, and his fascist tendencies, millions of citizens just couldn’t handle the idea of eggs and gasoline being too expensive. Despite my hopes that the country would finally see fit to elect its first female president, those hopes were destroyed. A lot of people are grieving, and I’m sure millions of people are overjoyed.
Probably the worst part for me, after the initial shock of the results, was having to inform my teenage daughters of the outcome the morning after the election. They were disappointed and angry, to say the least, but life had to go on. I took them to school, and then I made a decision: rather than sitting at home, doom scrolling through my social media feeds, I went for a run. And you know what? It really helped. Putting one foot in front of the other, even though my heart was heavy and my ankles were stiff, became a metaphor for me. As the next four years go by, we all are simply going to have to move forward, one step at a time. Some of those steps are going to be more painful than others. And the thing is, even though I was only planning on doing 2 or 3 miles, I did over 5 miles…and it was a great run! There may be a metaphor there, too. We are often capable of much more than we initially think.
Sure, I’m still deeply disappointed, and my faith in America, such as it was, is pretty shattered. But my family will still go to work and school, we’ll celebrate birthdays and holidays, there will be ups and downs, and we will continue to love each other, as we always have and always will. My older daughter is still focused on getting into a college that will be right for her. And I will keep on running, because that’s what I do.
There are going to be a lot of things about the second Trump presidency that will piss me off even more than the first one did, I’m sure. But his awfulness doesn’t have to mess up my entire world. And I’m not going to let it mess up my world. I choose to put one foot in front of the other, and to keep on moving forward. I hope anyone reading this will do the same. Peace.