Of course we all know this past week was either triumphant for you or devastating. I'm unfortunately in the latter group, but there is always something that shows itself when things seem at their worst. I honestly believe God works that way, but you have to be willing to see the small wonders that make the big horrible things not seem like the world is coming to an end. And the gravity of this election made us truly go to that place in our minds and our hearts.
So Wednesday morning was a complete disaster. I began with devastated - as I mentioned - then I went to despondent, then anger began to set in. Worst stage and it lasts the longest. However, there is a fourth stage - humor. If I can't seriously embrace the next president - which I am quite sure will require magical feats in order for that to happen - I can at least revel in the fact that he is completely ridiculous and so will be his suspected entourage. I can watch late night comedy and the famed SNL to keep abreast of the ongoing mockery that I expect to be moving in indefinitely. And oh, I do love to laugh. Political satire is my most favorite. So you see, I'm smiling already.
And of course in talking with Aziza that Wednesday she was in school texting me to say that kids were going crazy in the halls, screaming Trump's name. I said to her, "Just ignore it." That's my usual go-to anyway. When it doubt, tune it out! And she said, how can they be so stupid? I said, "Well, be glad at least that you know you would not have voted for Donald Trump if you were able to vote. And she said to me... "And that's because you raised me to be a good human." I was flooded with this acceptance and appreciation from my daughter she had never confided in me before. Right there in a simple text she told me I had done a good job, and she was a good person because of me. I just said, "And that's all you can do."
Acceptance is not always an easy concept for many, and it often requires a lifetime of lessons to get you to the point where you can say, "Okay, this is the way it is, I will go on as I have and deal with it the best way I can." I grew up watching my mother absolutely defy anything she did not like, approve of, or did not go her way. To this day, I swear I can still hear her stamping her feet in defiance. However, today she is probably reveling in the fact that Trump won, and not because she has any real political views of her own - hasn't voted in over 20 years - or because she thought he was the better candidate, she is most likely enjoying the fact that him being elected would have really hurt me. She loves to see me miserable and wrong, with her being the victor so she can say, 'I told you so." Or more politically correct, "I don't want to tell you I told you so but... " I know we can't pick our family, but we can surely stop taking their calls!
On a lighter note, and there is always a bright sky just beyond the storm, I know now that I am the loudest voice my daughter hears. Wanting to give her the wisdom and tools to make the most of her life, when so much of that was never given to me (had to learn my wisdom the very hard way), I am certain that the future, no matter who our president is or what the world sometimes will dictate, she has a mind of her own and will follow her own path, never anyone else's.
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