Pressing Pause

Image by KWeeks. Used with permission.

A week ago today, the nation suffered through the actual day of election after weeks of mail-in ballots and early voting and pontificating and bullshit leading up to it..

Four days later, president-elect Joe Biden was announced while the current president went golfing and the nation’s COVID rate spiked sharply.

Today, the current administration refuses to acknowledge their defeat. They believe, somehow, that election results favoring Republicans down ballot were somehow legitimate but the main event was bogus, a stolen election, a lie.

Preposterous. Unthinkable. A coup being staged by senior administration officials in the current administration. A(nother) stain on this country.

I am having a hard time spending time on this blog. I will still bake, cook, and write. But it seems insignificant and stupid to post anything right now.

Now is a time for reflection, renewed action, and meaningful planning.

Look after the vulnerable people in your life and wear your fucking mask.

Cancel your Thanksgiving plans and wash your hands.

I may or may not continue here. For now, I need to come out of the virtual space and make attempts to ground myself and not hate the 70 million people who voted (and all of those who chose, yet again, to sit one out).

Take care of yourselves. Maybe I’ll see you on the other side.

Election Day Self-Care

Looking for a light in the darkness on Election Day 2020.

It’s Election Day, 2020, and things couldn’t be more uncertain. The only thing that is crystal clear is that this day is going to last longer than 24 hours – Maryland alone has until DECEMBER 8 to count all of its votes.

So it’s crucial to mind our central nervous systems and practice some deep self-care. These are my plans for today and the rest of the week:

I have deleted the Instagram app on my phone for the next few days.

I will take a daily walk in the woods.

I have already done an hour of yoga (and will do an hour of yoga every morning).

I am on a technology fast for 12 hours a day, every day, in perpetuity.

I am planning on cooking deeply comforting foods today: crispy quinoa, African* peanut stew, and an apple galette. Tonight I will have pizza, my favorite.

I have selected a non-election-related documentary (Spaceship Earth) for election night and am busy lining up more for the rest of the week.

On Election Day 2020 I am reading Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey by my cousin A.J. Jacobs.

I am checking in with my people.

There is no certainty in the outcome of this election, and when that is the case the whole world seems to be tilted sideways. Add to this the crazy wind (blowing in some change? Is it a metaphor?) and the end of Mercury in retrograde (but still in restroshade for two weeks) and things are bound to feel unsettled.

How will you care for yourself on this day? What do you need, and how can I help?