What a crazy time to be alive.

I’m happy, but wary. And also scared.

Scared

It’s like we really don’t know what he’s going to do. Trump is too stupid, arrogant, and insulated to acknowledge that he is WILDY unpopular and RUINED his political party (and much more) for the foreseeable future. In the White House, he lives in a bubble, lovingly attended by sycophants. And yet, he remains the most powerful man in all the realm—with access to nuclear weapons—for two more years.

Happy

I mean come ON…the blue TSUNAMI feels so good. After all the poster-making, protesting, singing, letter writing, donating, art making, posting, calling…we actually won. Grassroots organizing and VOTING beat the billionaires. Holy Shit.

Wary

OK, so I’m like 93.5% sure that MAGA Trumpism is on life support. But what is gonna come next? According to historians, huge defining moments of change and great progress have taken place at the end of eras like this (1850s, 1890s, 1930s). In the words of Heather Cox Richardson, “we have a chance to build something.” I so want this to be the dawn of a new age. I want my grandchildren to grow up in a better, kinder, safer, more affordable, less terrifying world.

I’m wary because I’ve already heard such wildly diverse viewpoints from people on my side. Even SNL came right out with a skit making fun of Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer for being way too mainstream to meet the moment. Will the right leaders emerge to lead us through the storm and into 2028 so we can get The White House into good, safe, smart hands? Will people stay engaged?

OK, so that’s ⬆️ where I’m at on the Sunday night following the Tuesday, November 3rd midterm elections of 2026.

FACEBOOK

In case you don’t know, Facebook is like Ground Zero for GenX politics. (Remember youngsters, GenX lost track of our classmates for decades between school and the invention of social media.) Facebook is where you rediscovered anyone you ever knew when you were much younger, and then found out which ones had drunk the MAGA Kool-Aid and which ones you would not need to unfriend.✂️

I went to bed early on Tuesday night. (I wasn’t going to get burned again watching heartbreaking election returns into the wee hours.) On Wednesday, I woke-up early and immediately saw that there had been a huge Blue Wave—I think they were even calling it a Blue Tsunami in the NYT. My Facebook feed was weirdly quiet though.

I did see one post from an old friend who rarely posts. It just said “YAY, VOTING!” Another rare-posting old friend just said “sending thoughts.” The most ardent activists I know posted nothing. I think they were stunned. Also, gloating seemed wrong.

I decided to post my recent abstract circular painting with the caption “I’m naming this painting Blue Wave 🌊 😊” on Facebook. It just felt right to post some art on Wednesday morning. It received many hearts and wonderful comments from FB friends who were feeling like me. I even got some likes from folks with whom I very rarely interact and didn’t know their political leanings.

Breathe