Thursday, November 17, 2016

A Light In The Darkness

I am devastated by last week's election. I went to bed before the election results were final because I was shaking so badly my teeth were chattering. I got up at four the next morning, physically ill. I called in sick and thought I'd go back to bed but I couldn't settle down enough to stay in one place, much less go back to sleep. I cried and fretted, checked websites, then got off the computer only to  listen to bits of the news on television and radio. I couldn't believe it. I could not wrap my head around the devastation that is upon us.

I still can't.

The saving grace two days later was a visit from my son and his family from California. They flew east to attend a wedding in southern Maine and were able to stay with us for two days. We kept meals simple and the schedule flexible. My granddaughter Piper is almost four months old, a cuddle bundle who slept in my arms. She needed to stay with her parents in Portland, but our almost three-year old grandson Kenny came for a sleepover Saturday night.

It was exactly what we needed. We played with trucks, read books, chatted and sang songs, went shopping, checked out the living fish and stuffed animals at LL Bean, ate donuts, watched Toy Story, and focused completely on the joy that is Kenny. He is thoughtful, curious, and funny. His obsession for all things with wheels is contagious. Show him a photo of his cousin and he will focus on the truck in the background. We laughed and cuddled and soaked up his unfiltered enthusiasm for life.

He and my other grandchildren are the reason I will pick myself up, dust myself off, and find out what I can do to combat the insanity that is about to attack the very things that make our country what it is today.

And I have photos to remind me every day where I need to keep my focus~



 

4 comments:

ellen abbott said...

I didn't watch to begin with but when I woke I just knew. It's a nightmare and only getting worse if the worst aspects of that man come out. so much violence and hate is being poured out on people of color, non-christians, non-cisgendered, and just plain women. and the people he is selecting are horror personified. if the electoral college doesn't have the courage to do the right thing, and I have no hope that they will, the only thing we can do is resist and stand up to the violence and hope like hell that cooler heads (if there are any) in the republican party will prevail and rein him in.

Anonymous said...

Hey you, I knew your post would buck me up. I've been hovering between the denial-depressed-angry areas, and uncertain when that will change.

elli said...

It is all profounding terrifying, and enraging. Sigh.

What a blessing for you to have your grandbabies with you during this time! A real gift.

Cindy L said...

I have been sick at heart since the election, too, my friend. Horrified. I haven't felt safe in my own country since that crazy person was elected, and I don't know when things will feel right and good again.

Everyone I respect and care about feels the same way. For weeks, I have distanced myself from Republican/conservative friends. Luckily, I hang mostly with sharp Democrats, anyway, so this isn't a huge change. I am struggling hard to remain civil to everyone ... but I feel resentful of and angry at the voters who are putting us through this Hell on earth. I no longer trust people. What kind of leader would deliberately create such divisiveness between his people????