What's Next?

I am grieving. I am dismayed, worried, and sad. Clare came home from school yesterday and told me that another little girl in her class told her that "Donald Trump wants to kill all the girls." Sick. The good news: Clare quickly assured me that she knew that was NOT true and she told the girl so. My girl is strong and is not afraid to tell people when she thinks they've said something wrong or untrue. I hope she never loses that.

The fact remains that hate won on Tuesday. I feel devalued as a woman. I worry for the safety of my friends who are not white men. I am concerned about the environment and what the planet will be like for my children when they are adults. We need to grieve, but then we need to ask, "What's next?"

For me, in the short term, it's going to be this.
1. Write a heartfelt email to Hillary Clinton, telling her how much I admire her and how sorry I am that things ended the way they did.
2. Help my sister with the get together/fundraiser she is hosting. The plan is to gather a group of like-minded women to support each other and hopefully raise money for Planned Parenthood or the Battered Women's Coalition. (Local folks: I'll be in touch.)
3. Hug my kids and talk to them (again) about kindness, and how important it is that no matter the person's sex, skin color or religion, they deserve our kindness and respect.

In the long-term, I don't know. I think that's part of what is scaring me right now. I just don't know. However, I will do my best to make my little corner of the world a better place. I won't sit back. I will be writing representatives, joining protests, and doing whatever I can to fight for the causes I believe in.  And I will look to the future, and hope that in what feels like the darkest of days, we will do better. We have to do better. For them.

For all of us.