Good Courage – It takes patience and courage to get thru a week like this. I want to encourage everyone to stay calm, and find ways to defy tension and anxiety. I am going swimming at the lap pool everyday, and limiting news exposure. There are many great old movies to watch or favorite episodes to catch up on. Find the fun in your life.

If you are feeling sad or tense, take action to abate anxiety –
Slow down. Take a long deep breath. Stretch. Avoid anxiety. Take a walk in the fresh air. Ride your bike. Take a Yoga Class. Enjoy your neighborhood or local park. Call a friend. Read a good book to escape current events for a bit. Hang in there. Think Positive thoughts. This will be over at the end of the week. Once we get to 270….. EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!!

ON UNITY –
We are ALL AMERICANS. This election is defining America, and all of us as American citizens. I am glad we are on the better side of history with our democratic values. We are bending the arc to include more diversity, recognizing gaps in equity and finding new ways to resolve them. We strive to listen more attentively to peoples’ true needs and take progressive action towards a more perfect union. We should all celebrate our citizenship and our unique freedom in America, the greatest nation in the world.

Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential concession speech said this – “The president is my opponent, not my enemy, and I wish him well, and I pledge my support in whatever advances the cause of a better America. That’s what the race is about in the first place… And I would say to the young people and all the others involved, it’s a lot more fun winning, and it hurts to lose an election, but stay involved and keep fighting the good fight, because you are the ones that will make the 21st century the next AMERICAN century.“
This week, I listened to all the historical presidential concession speeches and was inspired by their common themes – To Celebrate Democracy, and Vow to continue the fight. Very uplifting words from our past leaders. I do worry that our current president will not help his followers unite under new leadership, and accept the lawful election results. We will have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, it is still a nail biter getting to final election results this week. Please be PATIENT!! Let the election officials do their job in each state, and get the results tabulated. Don’t hold your breath – KEEP BREATHING!

Please don’t lose HOPE. We need to work together to squelch the polarizing divisive attitudes. We need to embrace our common humanity while we respect our diversity and differences. We need to come together to get work done, going forward. We just had the BIGGEST (near 80%) Voter Turnout ever. That is something we in the 21st LD helped to achieve, so we should all take pride in that historic accomplishment. There is SO MUCH left to DO. Don’t give up!!!

COUNT ALL VOTES!!!

Warm regards from your chair,

Sharon