It's been 34 weeks since coronvirus hit the state of GA.
34 weeks since life changed drastically for me, Doug and Briana.
So...
* Joe B!den and K@mala Harris are heading to the White House *
I honestly don't even know what to say right now. I've put my opinion out into the world quite a bit before this election and now I get to write this post from the other side of it. I think I'm still in a state of shock. I will say - I'm very, VERY happy with the election results and unbelievably relieved. I said in my last post that I wouldn't gloat if things went the way I hoped they would, and I am sticking to that. But am I happy? So very much.
Bri and I made some celebratory chocolate chip cookies on Saturday...
In a little more than two months from now, my daughter won't have to hear the leader of our nation use the terms "Ch!na virus" and "Kung Fl@" ever again. So yeah, we are pretty happy.
Usually my blogs posts consists of the good stuff and the bad stuff of the previous week, but honestly, I was so consumed with the election last week that I didn't get much else accomplished. So, this post will pretty much be all about that.
I can say that Doug's work is busy, Briana's school is good and the basement is moving at a snail's pace. I'm super frustrated by that. I was hoping for a "before Thanksgiving" finish but now I'm not so sure. It's close but not done. It seems like I spend most of my life "patiently" waiting for things, and I'm not quite sure why...
Last week was pretty tough on me. Being an anxious person in general, the unknown is not my friend. All my negative/shocking experiences and all the waiting I've endured over the years has created the anxious person that is now before you. And since my chronic health issues are always ongoing and open ended, I like other aspects of my life to be more solidified. I just want to know what's going to happen.
I knew going into this election, the nation (the world) was in for the long haul. I mentioned it many times in previous posts. And the counting went for 4 very long days. I didn't even know if there would be an answer to this election when I wrote this post, but I really hoped there would be and I hoped it would go the way I wanted it to. I'm so glad the wait is over.
This election has made me feel like I've run a marathon, gone twelve rounds in a boxing match and swam across the ocean. My mental and physical exhaustion is crazy right now. I think it might be also from holding my breath and clenching my fists for 4 years.
I'm sure a lot of people were able to walk away from the election noise once in a while and get some other "life" things accomplished. Me - I was pretty hyperfocused on election coverage (though I was still able to do my "mom" duties). But other than basic stuff, it was super difficult for me to concentrate on anything else last week. And that is what a lot of anxious people do - absorb information which makes us feel like we have some sort of control over a situation. This tweet made me laugh because I know I was spending way too much time last week looking at maps...
I was feeling so jittery on Thursday afternoon, I took a long walk around my neighborhood. It was a beautiful fall day and the leaves are changing now...
And then I started reflecting. I remembered all the walks I took around my neighborhood in the spring when the virus first hit and how I was looking around at all the flowers and plant life blooming then. Here we are months and months later and the virus is still freaking going strong. And not only is it still going strong in the states, it's getting worse. That's because we tried to ignore science. You can't ignore a pandemic - it just doesn't work. I guess the walk made me feel a little better, but I was still feeling sad (and very nervous).
As for the election itself, I think (I know) it was a fair election. It really angers me that people are saying it was rigged. It's undermining the democratic process. Election workers represent both parties - and they are doing their jobs to the best of their ability (a huge kudos to them by the way). There is absolutely no proof of any fraud or rigging. If there is any proof, show it. Every court case that has been brought so far (except one) has been thrown out. Decision desks were too nervous to call anything until they were completely sure of the result because they knew Tr@mp would freak out.
The right is acts like the left actually has the power to rig an entire US election. It's crazy. Remember, the left actually lost some seats in the House and the right still holds control of Senate. Those election ballots that the right wants to throw out includes down-ballot votes too.
And remember this...
This is how I feel about it...
And...
Look, Tr@mp can bring as many lawsuits as he wants, but he lost by too much and in too many states. He has no evidence of fraud. If anything questionable is found somewhere, by all means, investigate it. But Tr@mp lost. He lost the popular vote by 5 million votes. He just lost.
Even his advisors know he lost...
There won't be a concession speech. I don't think there will be any speech at all, but if there is, it's just going to be a speech about how the election was stolen from him.
It's funny - I thought I would feel more nervous about Tr@mp's reaction and the lawsuits and his antics. A lot of it is white noise to me now. He is definitely going to try to continue to create a lot of chaos while he is still in office and that makes me a bit nervous/nauseous. But, I'm going to try to not pay attention to any of it. The election was definitive enough for me to feel pretty confident about the future. Tr@mp is president until Jan 20, so I'll finish exhaling on that day...
And I have to say, Georgia surprised the heck out of me. I knew it would probably be close and it still is, but I didn't think it would lean left. I know there is a recount, but I think the state will probably stay in the B!den column (I snapped the below pic before B!den overtook Tr@mp in GA)...
And now we have TWO Senate race runoffs. Isn't GA lucky? LOL! Ugh - a million more campaign ads. I'm so burnt out already.
The one thing I do know, I still live in a very red county. Lots of people around here will be unhappy and possibly bitter. Most still won't believe this virus/pandemic is a big deal. I still have to deal with that. But, I at least have some hope now. Much more hope.
The results for this election (if things continue to go the way everyone thinks) will be exactly flipped from what happened in 2016...
And when 2016 happened, Cl!inton conceded...like a grown up (and I'm not really a Hillary fan). She didn't scream "voter fraud" and "stolen election." It's time for Tr@mp to put his big boy pants on. It's time for his enablers to stop enabling him.
I saw this really cool graphic on FB...
It shows where people actually live. All the red on the first map is deceiving. From the results of this election, this nation is pretty much divided 50/50 politically.
And to all my friends from other parts of the world, your support has been wonderful - seriously. It's amazing how many people from across the globe were so invested in this election.
I do need to bring up how many times I was told that coronavirus would stop being talked about after the election. Well, it's still being talked about. The US is breaking records for coronavirus cases. A record of 126,742 news cases on Saturday. 2,195 new cases in GA on Saturday. This virus is out of control and it is super scary...
I'm going to talk now to those who voted differently than I did (if any of you are still reading my blog). I said in my last post that I would need some time to grieve and time to process if B!den didn't win. You may have to do this now, so I'll give you the time you need. Some of you may not like Tr@mp all that much but have been able to overlook his character flaws and gaslighting tactics because conservative issues are very important to you - and I am truly trying to understand that. But I couldn't overlook his character flaws. I couldn't overlook all the negative things he has done. I understand that you might be super nervous right now about B!den becoming president (the exact way I felt about Tr@mp), but he is reaching out an olive branch to you - something that Tr@mp never did for those who opposed him. He will never be as mean-spirited, close-minded and bullish as Tr@mp. If you liked that about Tr@mp, then I guess we have a different set of values. If you don't ever end up liking B!den, that's fine. Nominate a different, hopefully less divisive candidate in 2024 and we'll vote again. That is what democracy is all about.
Over 75 million people want to try something different now...
So, I think I'll wrap this post up now. I wish I could say I'm totally calm and at peace (though I am feeling so much better), but now I have to face the holidays in the midst of coronavirus. Everything is going be very different this year. Doug, Bri and I are still being super vigilant when dealing with this virus (especially with the uptick in numbers), so that means we won't be seeing a lot of people this year that we usually see at the holidays - that I really wish we could see. It makes me sad - but this whole freaking year has made me sad.
I think the political aspect of this blog from this point forward will decrease now (don't hold me to it - things can always still happen), but I will continue to talk about coronavirus.
I was never one to openly talk about politics. But when coronavirus hit in March and it so badly affected my life, my feelings about this administration - that I had kept pent up for such a long time - started pouring out in this blog. I just couldn't help myself. And it's been very therapeutic for me. Hopefully soon, the dust will start to settle and I can concentrate on just "regular" stuff again.
So now, I'll take this win and do a little happy dance...
I'll be back next week (hopefully). Peace out.
