What Will Happen on Election Day

You will wake up. You will check your phone. You will drink your tea/coffee/orange juice and eat something even though you don’t feel very hungry. You will brush your teeth. You will put on clothes.

You will go to work/drop off your kids/sit in front of your computer/begin your poll worker shift/go on a hike.

You will check your phone. The news will make you angry. You will want to throw that anger at someone: Trump/Elon Musk/Netanyahu/your right-wing family members in Florida/your messy friend in Pennsylvania who probably won’t get it together to vote. You will think about whether your anger is helpful to anyone. You will put down your phone. You will drink a glass of water.

You will compliment the T-shirt/glasses/hair of someone who rings you up/hands you a coffee/checks you in for an appointment. You will tip generously today.

You will eat a few pieces of Halloween candy. You will text your friend in Pennsylvania about her voting plan. She will <3 your text but not reply.

You will have a meeting where nothing gets done.

You will check your phone. You will see something that makes you feel better. You will see something that makes you feel worse. You will put down your phone.

You will wonder if the feeling in your stomach is food poisoning or anxiety or just hunger. You will consider what to have for lunch. You will scroll through menus online/open your fridge multiple times. Nothing sounds very good. You will order your usual salad from Sweetgreen/microwave yesterday’s dinner. You will eat lunch. You will eat a few more pieces of Halloween candy.

You will smile at coworkers/neighbors as if someone has died. They will return the expression. You will have the same conversation many times in the day. You will be told to Hang in There.

You will sit on the toilet. You will wish you could poop. You will open Instagram. Someone you loosely know will be infuriatingly smug/callous/ignorant/wrong. You will notice that you are full of judgement.

You will vote. You will not be a better person for having voted, but still, you will vote.

You will see a friend/friends/family. You will find someone in a worse state than you. You will remind them that whatever happens, the work to be done will be mostly the same. You will remind them that worrying won’t change what work they do.

You will eat something for dinner that reminds you of home. You will wash the dishes.

You will check your phone. You will send a text to a friend who you know has been going through a lot. You will tell them to Hang in There.

You will meditate/run a bath/put on an old album. You will feel like this is doing nothing. You will consider whether there is anything better to be done.

You will have a good poop.

You will write in your journal. You will write that you are anxious/that you are useless/that your friend in Pennsylvania is worse than useless. You will write that you wish you could just know. You will write that not-knowing is like the weather and it will pass.

You will pet your cat/dog/turtle. For a moment, all of your attention will be on making the animal happy. For a moment, you will wish for everyone to be happy. You will get into bed.

You will check your phone. You will get out of bed and plug in your phone in another room. You will eat some crackers. You will sip some water. You will get into bed. You will breathe in and out for counts of four. You will tell yourself that you are okay. You will know that you are okay. You will go to sleep.

What I’m Cooking

Here’s one from the archives that I’ve updated a bit recently, in case you want something sweetly comforting:

And here’s last week’s recipe! A versatile savory dip that’s good for snacks or meals.