4 years ago, I wrote a post after the 2016 General Election, Sharing a Few Giggles. Yes, that election. The one where Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton, the first American woman to win the nomination of a major political party and who won the popular vote (but not the Electoral College), lost to a man who turned out to be the most divisive president in US History. My post was a short one:

The past month has been an emotional roller coaster ride for many of us. In my world, there has been the fun of being in Chicago with the Cubs winning the World Series and the excitement of buying a new car being totally overshadowed last week by the results of the US presidential election. It was hard there for a few days not to cave in to an overarching feeling of doom and gloom, to instead feel resilient and balanced and living with purpose.

However, sometimes, in the midst of some very serious world events and feeling that things were no longer spiraling out of control, but were instead officially OUT of CONTROL, you find yourself back home in Michigan at your parents’ house on a beautiful and sunny fall day, raking leaves with your sister, meeting the new next door neighbor, talking about the election results and action and how we got to this fantabulous day in November and before you know it, you and your sister are playing in the leaves, giggling like teenagers. And life feels hopeful again.

Hoping you can find a little hopefulness during these rather trying times!!

There have been numerous times these past 4 years where it was so hard “not to cave in to an overarching feeling of doom and gloom.” There has been a lot for many of us to cope with: illness, unemployment, COVID, loss, and the feeling that we had all become actors in a reality tv show.

But still, we persisted. We marched. We walked strike lines. We advocated. We watched dog/cat/panda videos.

And today, more than 74 million Americans, as well as many others throughout the world, have been celebrating! After a rather nerve wracking week, Joseph Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have won our presidential election! Thanks to those that came before, such as Jeannette Rankin, Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, Eleanor Roosevelt, Hilary Clinton, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ida B. Wells, and Lucy Stone, we finally have our first female Vice President who also happens to be Black, Indian-American, and the daughter of immigrants.

Life is feeling hopeful again.