Four Amazing Things

as soon as i saw michelle obama get out of the limousine to go into the Capitol, i started crying.

Brought this emotionally repressed Englishwoman to tears! Don’t tell Her Maj ;)

It was an incredible day and moment. My 7-year old son and I watched together, and he sent a letter to President Biden (I love being able to write that!) with some words of advice ;-). I’m also adoring the daily press briefings – so normal, professional and collegial! With phrases like “based on the recommendations of economists and health experts…” etc. It literally makes me giddy!

Congratulations from Norway! Even MY kids are happy for you <3

Thank goodness reason and humanity is back in the White House.

If only we had some possibility of change of government here in the UK where the lying and mismanagement continues as we see corona virus deaths soar because of our governments refusal to act quicker and our environment standards falling because of a Brexit that we were promised would be ‘green’ :(

Feeling the joy of the new President and Vice President after so many tumultuous weeks after the election (and months throughout this pandemic- and years with the previous administration)… but I also had a great aunt die of covid Wednesday evening. I can’t describe how bittersweet the day felt. Seeing the immediate actions the Biden administration is taking. Wondering how many lives would have been saved if someone had been taking it that serious since last year. I wish the day could have been pure joy. Feeling these words from Clint Smith:

When people say we have made it through worse before
All I hear is the wind slapping
against the gravestones
of those who did not make it,
those who did not survive
to see the confetti fall
from the sky, those who
did not live to watch the
parade roll down the street.

In addition to all what has been written and felt, I was incredibly moved to witness VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was rocking her amazing and natural curls!!! As a Latina, we have it baked in our culture to iron out our hair. I have worn my hair naturally and curly for over five years now and it is soo sooo soo empowering to witness! It’s a small thing but it’s really a big thing. So proud and so many amazing milestones yesterday and beyond ??????????

My 8 y/o son and I watched the inauguration together. I kept him home from school so that we could raise our little American flags in our living room and take in this wonderful, historical moment.
I’ll never forget who I was with and where I was when the world changed and became a much brighter place to be.

JOY!!! Rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. Halting the Keystone Pipeline. A leader who sees his faith as a call to serve, rather than as a route to power and riches. Kamala Harris!!!!!!

aside from my overwhelming joy for a new administration, i couldn’t stop crying yesterday about WOMENNNNN and representation!!! the women on that stage were all so epic. i’m still not over it today!!!! <3

Germany here: BIG relief, tears of joy, great agreement that the world will be a better place with Biden/ Harris in the White House. (Fun fact: in Germany, Obama won the category „Person with whom one would prefer to be on a lonely Island“ – recently!)
BUT we still dont get the 70+ millions who voted for Trump AGAIN, which is even more than in 2016.
Is it because most people vote for a political party not for a person?
Can anybody help?

I would like to add to the good news from yesterday- U.S. Capitol Police Officer (and D.C. native) Eugene Goodman, who was alone, in uniform, facing a group of insurrectionists and who was able to lead rioters away from the Senate Chamber on January 6th, escorted VP Harris during the Inauguration Ceremony yesterday. Officer Goodman is a hero.

Amazing!!!!! Happy day! We watched the inauguration with our 2 boys, ages 10 and 13 (tomorrow), and do you know what they commented on? President Biden’s tone and words. My older son said that his body felt tense when he would hear our old president speak. That he often mocked people and his words were “mean and hateful”. Words matter. Our kids are watching. A decent man is our President and a woman is his VP. THIS is what I want them to see. And Amanda Gorman is a ROCKSTAR!

The way I feel today has just put into sharp perspective just how bad every day of the last four years has been. I’m relieved, overjoyed, hopeful. And I’m filled with grief and bitterness at everything that has been taken away from us since 2016.

I’m going to keep fighting for racial justice, healthcare, and climate action. But I’m realizing that I will also need to devote time to myself, repairing what’s been damaged by 4 years of stress and fear and rage and grief. At least I will finally have the mental space and energy to do that work.

I also finished Ted Lasso yesterday so it was a real feelings-filled day for me!

I love reading these comments. I agree with so much and I also see in new ways.

A striking thing about yesterday’s ceremony was Biden’s invocation of a moment of silence for the 400,000 human beings who’ve died of COVID in America. The last administration just would not/could not face the terrible facts about this virus. President Biden allowed us to mourn and honor the losses we’ve sustained. It was a vital step on the path through the pandemic. I am so glad to have a leader with a big heart, unafraid of humanity’s sorrow.

So many things running through my head. Relief. Joy. Anxiety about the very long road ahead.

Tears as I read through these comments and realize this feels like a safe(r) space again. I just don’t want to hear any more justifications/conspiracies/whataboutisms/minimizing/flat out racism. Tears as I read the comments from readers outside of the US, their joy for our country, their relief too.

So proud of everyone at the inauguration yesterday, I just cried through the whole thing. May this be our turning point. May we finally finish the long overdue work so long passed down. May we overcome so many obstacles before us. And may we all survive this long and deadly winter. Love and healing for all of those grieving lost loved ones.

Finally, I’m a white woman born, raised and living on stolen native lands (Apsáalooke, Aaniiih, Niitsitapi and others) . May we all please raise up native voices and struggles so that they are given the same consideration as others. No mention of native peoples yesterday. No mention that the ceremony was happening on stolen lands. No mention of those displaced and murdered. No mention that covid is hitting native peoples so very hard. No mention that it was the Diné (Navajo) nation that delivered Arizona to Biden and Harris. No mention of the thousands of missing and murdered native sisters across Indian country. I saw a lot of sadness, anger and heartache on the native social media accounts I follow, and I think it was justified. Stopping the XL pipeline yesterday was a huge step forward and such a hopeful act of good faith that there will be more recognition to come. Let’s please remember who fought to stop it, and that we all benefit from the clean water that will be preserved because native sisters and brothers put their very lives on the line to protest it for many years.

I am a Brit across the pond but the mother of an American. our youngest son was born when we lived with you. I watched and wept yesterday and then texted my young American and said ‘the good guy man won’. Grace, dignity, honesty and good manners now reside in the White House in President Biden. To make the day even more emotional Vice President is a woman and a woman of colour. Bloody Marvellous! There is much to do and much to heal but I have hope and faith in Biden and Harris. Two pairs of safe hands to bring America back to the world.

(Amanda Gorman!!! I love you!!!) Still reflecting on yesterday, wrote a poem this morning to process it all. Resilient hope, radical imagination. Sinking my teeth into them. Licking my fingers. Hungry for more.

A WINTER HARVEST
For a long time, we kept on- just good enough. Hungry for more, but trying to stay satisfied with our silver linings.
Every dawning day we waited, tended, prepared for the fruits. Some called us ignorant at worst, naive at best, as they pointed to the dropping leaves.
The sun kept swinging low. The clouds stayed cold and gray. The trees became bare. Yet we clung to our hope. What else could we do?
Our hope that someday, some very fine day, we would be one of the lucky ones at the harvest.
And that we would wake up and the fruits of the earth, all across the land- the peaches of Georgia, the cherries of Michigan, the apples of New York, the apricots of California- would return to us in the same way that we would return to each other:
raw, bruised, tender,
yet sweeter than we ever thought we could be.

I am so relieved to have a functioning executive branch.

I realized today that Trump was playing reverse Undercover Boss for the past four years. He was someone with no skill or interest who snuck into the role and nearly ruined the company.

Yes! Thank you for using your platform to amplify the call for donations. Miss you all.

The comments here from global neighbors are as meaningful to me as the inauguration! I am so thankful for support and love from people all over the world. Thank you for not giving up on the U.S.

It was a good day! So many amazing things. I’m a little bit in love with the Biden grandchildren! And Kamala’s grand nieces. They are little stars!

It was a beautiful day and like all of you I feel lighter in spirit today, a weight has been lifted. Happy New Year!