My Post-Election Gratitude Practice
They say you can combat negative thoughts and anxiety by cultivating gratitude, so here goes…
It’s a good thing my non-verbal autistic son is not aware of politics so I don’t have to explain how we’ve allowed a man who is unfit for office to regain the presidency.
It’s a good thing my son can’t vote so he can’t be blamed for electing federal and state representatives who aim to dismantle the programs that we are pretty fond of around here.
It’s a good thing my son isn’t a typical young adult so he’s in no danger of being sucked into the lies swirling around right-wing platforms, so we won’t have more to argue about at Thanksgiving beyond how many rolls one should eat.
It’s a good thing my son has aged out of public school so I don’t have to worry he could lose the federal IDEA protections that gave him the right to an education.
It’s a good thing my son hasn’t heard that he’s supposed to fear the wonderfully diverse and compassionate staff that support him every day.
It’s a good thing my son isn’t married so I don’t have to pray that his wife or his partner has access to proper medical care.
It’s a good thing my son has been at risk of losing healthcare and disability services before so that I can pull up old contacts and dust off those bullet points to fight for his rights again.
It’s a good thing my son needs my help 24/7 so I have less time to perseverate on the impending chaos, and so I can remind myself—through the imperatives of daily caregiving and advocacy—that I am here “not to agonize but to organize” for the actions that will be needed to protect the communities I care about.
Oh, sure. I feel much better now.
Some minor changes are in the works here at It’s Like This—completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things but a creative project that is helping to keep me sane!
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Thank you for being here. I am genuinely grateful for that.
This got me…thank you 🫂
This is so poignant, Robin, and beautifully expressed. You take this great big swirling, overwhelming reality we're facing and show us how it's personal.