Well.

This sucks.

Currently I’m sitting with two sets of feelings.

I’m already so tired, and scared, and discouraged.

And tired.

We just did this. I have semi-accurate predictions of how this is going to go, and none of it is good.

And on the other hand, I know how resilient and compassionate and loving people can be. How loving and compassionate and resilient you are, and me, and all of us.

I can grieve and worry and name (and color code and alphabetize and footnote) my fears, and also look at the trees changing and the blue in the sky, and the way so many people, literal thousands of people, volunteered hours and hours to try to avoid this outcome.

I can find daily moments of happiness, and I can create them for the people around me.

Thanks for being here, and being part of this community. We’re still here, and so are you, and we can work together in large and small ways to ensure that we ourselves and those we love are safe, and know that they are loved exactly as they are.

That said: