Dear President Trump,

I woke up with my jaw especially sore this morning from grinding my teeth extra hard all night. I was able to sleep, though, and I think having read in the HP about Michelle Obama’s reprise and elaboration of her encouragement to stay the course with integrity and to safeguard our dignity (i.e., still, no matter what, when they go low, we go high) right before bed helped a lot. I needed this reminder that no matter what happens today it will be critical to resist temptations to sink to your all’s level and also that there will still be countless opportunities to find creative ways to hang in and move the goal posts of progress further out. Today doesn’t make or break us. It will tell us something about which way the wind is blowing in different parts of the country. It will help shape the foci of tomorrow’s work and it will inform the tactics we need to try next. But it will not break us. And at least as importantly, it will not make us – none of us.

This morning it wasn’t as hard as usual to get up to feed the dogs and go for my run/walk. It was clear to me upon waking that I can’t be complacent in my self-care because no matter what happens, I need to be strong enough to stay in the mix and continue to try to be a positive force.

When I was almost home from my outing I was running along one of the busy arterials near us and came across an empty plastic bottle and an empty Doritos bag and I was grateful. I haven’t managed to get it together to do a formal trash pick-up complete with gloves and trash bags like I told you I would a few weeks ago, but a bunch of times lately I’ve picked up litter within a couple of blocks of home on my way back from runs. So I was grateful this morning to have the opportunity to do something positive, to pick up a little trash. If I weren’t telling you about it no one would know and normally that’s fine with me, but today as we all brace ourselves for the counts and the recounts, I wanted to go on record that no matter what happens there will still be trash to pick up and there will still be blessings to send.

May we be safe and free of all causes of harm.
May we be happy and content and may we all be clear we deserve happiness and contentment.
May we be healthy and strong for ourselves and for one another.
May our lives all unfold and intersect with ease and in peace.
May it be so.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson