The night of November 8th caught our nation’s hearts in a standstill procession of beats. Down a path many of us had not come to terms with. That night I tossed and turned, eventually getting up out of bed to sit in front of the TV, rescuing myself with ‘Friends’ reruns. I needed to feel like myself again. Most of all I needed to find the strength to talk to my nine year old daughter in the morning.
During this last year of cascading heat of political mayhem, our family had many discussions about the candidates. We discussed the issues, the platforms, the ideas and feelings on what would make tomorrow a better place. Our children were informed. We felt that living in a red state, with Trump signs in every corner, they needed to know the realities of this election. Our neighboring county has an active KKK who now finds bravery to drop recruiting flyers on doorsteps at night. The discrimination and hatred feels closer, and we all had a choice to ignite the flame or give it much needed rain.
There are a lot of uncertainties hanging in the balance. There are many days ahead that will be met with frustration and setbacks. However, we would be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that this comes in the days between every year. All of our hearts and minds are politically spent. We each have opinions and thoughts on the events that have been building up into these moments. Our biggest moment is framing itself right now as we hold our breaths and wait for January 20th, 2017.
Wednesday morning I sat down my daughter and told her the results of the election. Her face was quizzical, as if I had been telling a story and trailed off on a tangent before the ending. I found it within myself in that moment, to realize that I wasn’t telling her the conclusion of a story. I was only finding the beginning.
We will listen, I began to tell her. We will be active listeners to what our country is telling us. We may not like what we hear, but we will listen anyway. We will continue to stand up and speak for those who cannot. We will walk with our hearts leading the way. We all have important work to do. The lines of blue and red have been defined and rigid. They are the fence that has parted our land over and over again. Now we must learn to tear it down. To put away our differences. To deconstruct the nails and grainy wood that became a fixture in our hearts. There is great work to do. We must come together and keep our vision toward the future. To the little eyes and ears that will have this country someday, in the palm of their hands.
My daughter answered, people are important. No matter what their skin is, what they look like. No matter what God they pray to, what holiday they celebrate. No matter who they marry, who they love and kiss goodnight.
And, she added with a smile on her face, someday there will be a woman president. Like me.