The mourning, after

It's taken me a little while to write about the election, because, well, it's hard for me to find a lot of gratitude there.

But Thursday, I was in town, buying a birthday present for my brother-in-law, and ran into a woman I know not-as-well-as-I'd-like. She's one of those activists I'd like to think I could be — but am not. She practices what she preaches, and she works very, very hard, for causes like health care, living wages, affordable housing, and sound energy policy. She runs a non-profit toward that end. She's one of my local heroes, and she knows everyone in town, and she's everyone's local hero.

I didn't see her at first, but she saw me, and greeted me cheerily. And I asked how she was, and she said, "I'm good. I'm done with mourning, and ready to start fighting again. How are you?"

To which I replied, honestly, though I hadn't been thinking about it at all when I asked how she was, "Not done mourning, but working on it."

And actually, probably, a lot of the difference between us is that, pre-election, she worked really, really hard. She gave everything she could, left nothing on the field. And me? I am left wondering if what I could have done — but didn't — might have made a difference.

She was absolutely ready to keep going. I just hope I can gear up to get started.

Day 13 of my month of gratitude: I am so thankful for people who work hard to ensure this world is as good a place as it can be.