What a week it has been. So hopeful on Monday and then devastated Tuesday night. My fear became real. It is still with me, but not as overwhelming as it was initially. It is likely that hard times are coming for many of us, especially those who are just one pay day from homeless and hungry. Can we even hope that those in power have compassion? Now that they don’t need our vote anytime soon do they even know we exist? It would be so easy to sink into despair.

Then Wednesday came and there was a bit of time to process it all. The sun rose as it always has and slipped below the horizon at the end of the day. When the new (slightly used) president takes office we will know very quickly what to expect. That is still several weeks away so wringing our hands in fearful anticipation serves no purpose. So, I met an old friend for a beer at the end of the day and we talked about shared memories and our families and friends. We laughed and enjoyed a good meal.

Thursday I woke up determined to have a good day. So I made a plan. First coffee, hot with sugar and cream and the dog for company. Check. Make the husband a good breakfast, make the bed, finish the laundry and pay some bills. Check. Go to the gym for at least an hour. Check. Long, lazy hot bath and put on soft pajamas. Check. Simple supper and finish reading the novel that has been neglected for several days. Check. Have a glass of good wine and go to bed. Check. Most of the fear of earlier in the week is on the back burner now.

On Friday I made a list of chores that need doing around the house and then tackled about half of them. Managed to hit the gym again and have a nice dinner with the husband, and of course the dog. Still worried about times to come, but not as much.

Now on Saturday night I have knocked out most of the to do list, had phone calls with my favorite people and have settled in with more of the wine and some television — no news allowed.

I am making a conscious decision to move from fear to hope and I think I am on the way. Tomorrow is likely to be much like most of my days and that is pretty good. I hope to get hugs and laughs from my great grandkids and that is likely to happen. I hope that there are more people who want to do good things than bad. I hope for health and know that depends on what I do. I hope the rest of my family are okay and so far, they seem to be. I hope my community is made up of people who are kind to each other and I hope those things I have feared are less likely than they seem.