My Doctor Just Gave The Excellent Advice That The Next Few Days Are "airport Rules". You Do Whatever

My doctor just gave the excellent advice that the next few days are "airport rules". You do whatever you need to care for you and yours—even if that is having a martini at 10:00—and you make sure you are kind to yourself.

If you feel cold and are shaking, this could be a sign of mild shock. Drink something warm, wrap yourself up in a (pile of) blankets, and do something to distract yourself.

The work does not stop, but we cannot help others and improve the world if we are burned out and despairing.

Check in on your vulnerable friends. Your LGBTQ+ friends. Your black friends. Your Muslim friends. Your Jewish Friends. Your friends of all walks that I do not have the words for.

Remember that hope is not delicate. Hope is like a woman with scratches on her face, a broken nose, and grazed knuckles. A woman who always picks herself back up for another go.

Join your community and mutual aid groups. Don't expect them to be ready and waiting for you; sometimes the hard work that needs doing is getting it started. Now is the time to get involved. Apathy is what got us here. Donate to organizations that can continue to fight the good fight.

Remember that it is okay to be angry. Many in the voting populace have fundamentally failed all of the most vulnerable as well as themselves. Be angry, and then drive that anger into something better; fundamentally, you just have to care about people.

Even with a stranglehold on the senate, presidency, house, and supreme court, Trump is going to fight an uphill battle when it comes to changing the constitution.

Get your documentation in order and take steps to protect yourself and your family. Think, prepare, and be ready.

If you have the means and willingness to flee the country, then flee. It can put you in a better position to advocate for positive change.

Remember that this is not a zero-sum game. Gaining rights on one front does not mean losing them on another. Lift everybody up together and we will all benefit.

Finally, keep your fucking mouth shut. If you know your friends are LGBT, no you to not. If you know about an abortion or pregnancy, no you do not. If your neighbor is undocumented, no they fucking are not. If the cops come knocking, you shut the fuck up. Stand together and give the fascists no quarter.

Remember, above all else, that you will still wake up. You will still have a life. You will eat good food. You will laugh with those you love. You will see the beauty of nature that will outlast us. Things will get harder, but there will undoubtedly be many moments of joy within it.

Feel the pain. Grieve if you need to. Allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling. But do not give up. To succumb to despair here does nobody any service, and only by sticking together and uplifting each other can we try and build a better future.