If you read my last post, you may have caught the air of worry surrounding it. And though oddly not much had changed since that post (only a week ago) the world feels new again. Who would guess that one announcement based on numbers could bring out so many feels? But, this moment, finally, happened! And I was finally able to let out this deep sigh of relief.

The Associated Press called the race! Joe Biden was our new President-Elect!!!

That moment we all had been waiting for!

It felt almost like the first time I had been able to breathe in forever!

You know the feeling, where you breathe and didn’t even notice you were holding your breath? It was like that. Suddenly, this great tension was gone. A weight I was carrying, gone. I could finally BREATHE!

I wonder how much of America or the rest of the world felt this? It must had been a great amount, because it didn’t take long for the International Congratulations to start being reported.

But, ah! That long-awaited moment. The one we feared may not have come. That “Wait For It” Moment we all had been waiting for! Saturday was that moment!

I think CNN’s Van Jones really put it the best. I was actually in a group chat and we all watched this, and let me say, not one of us had a dry eye! It felt like this collective deep sigh was being released and we all finally were feeling some sense of relief as parents. We were finally letting our guard down and letting emotions out. The relief was deep. Deeper than the pain.

It was as if Van Jones was sharing what many of us parents were struggling with. As a mom, I got it, I knew this feeling. This was what I was feeling, not only for my child but for my friends, my family, my community, my country.

As a mom raising an LGBTQ+ kid I can’t even begin to describe how I felt the last 4 years, especially this last year. My child had been in harm’s way! Skin color and who people loved was under attack!

Seeing a bully in leadership day in and out and not understanding why there was so much support surrounding him. Why was any of it ok? How do we explain this to our kids? BUT! THIS! This was that moment I could show my child better. We can have an example again. A boy who had to overcome a stutter and bullying had grown up and was now on their side to fight to protect them. Even now he is still picked on for it but doesn’t let it stop him. We had a moment. We needed this moment!

As the morning went on, it was interesting to watch as a sense of calm come over everyone. As though, once that Biden news set in it was something else was released. It was like we all collectively had this moment of realization that we all finally felt safe to rest. Slowly, all of us on the Zoom we’re confessing the sudden need for a nap like we all have been on edge for so long and could finally sleep! (Let me tell you it was one of the best zone-out time I had in forever!)

It was funny actually hearing all of us reflecting the same feelings over Zoom and Facebook. No longer Dooms Day Scrolling but finally, celebration, GleeFreshing! Being able to share all those Hearts and Likes over the place verse the doom and gloom of trying to ignore, block, hide, anger reacted to it all. It was like a whole next world!

Then the magic that occurred that night!

First, let’s just address all the progress with Kamala Harris! She had it completely right, she sets an example of what girls can achieve! Skin tone or gender be damned! You can fight to achieve your dreams!

During Harris’s speech, at one time, I had this feeling like R.B.G. leaving her stamp of approval. It was almost tapping you on the shoulder saying, “It will be alright, I got this.” She may not have lived long enough to see it, but her life’s work made this! We have a MADAME VICE PRESIDENT! A woman of color, none the less! It was time for our children to see representation. Goosebumps.

And then came Biden’s speech! That speech!

The key things that stood out to me were all the “Folks” or “Folx” and FINALLY, the first President (Elect) to acknowledge all of the LGBTQ+ Community! The biggest part, especially acknowledging Trans lives! My eyes teared up and gave my kiddo’s hand a squeeze. Sigh! That moment! We’ve been living on edge waiting for a moment like that for far too long.

Confession. I did not even realize how much I missed being able to watch speeches! This sounds extra dorky, but it’s true. Over the last 4 years, I would try but only make it minutes at best. Most of the time only seconds. I could feel my heart race with all the anger, tension, and just trying to follow a thought process that wasn’t there. I gave up. So, I completely forgot, that I would actually watch these and normally take something away from them as opposed to waiting for summaries and clips released. That whole logic and making sense, speaking from places of love and hope… I missed it! All of it! UNITY!!!

Biden may not have been my first choice, but man, am I proud to call him OUR President!

The fight far from over. There is still a lot of work to be done, especially if you are looking at the demographics of the votes. It’s going to take years to undo the amount of darkness that had emerged. There is no way to ignore any of it, but baby-steps.

Here’s to Hope of the Future! Let’s keep this momentum going!