STAYING TOUGH AND TENDER

One week. It’s only been one week since the 2020 presidential race ended.

If 5 years of therapy has taught me anything it’s that the pain doesn’t stop when the trauma does.

So if after popping that bubbly and celebrating this weekend you find yourself, like me, feeling anything other than spectacular, remember that it took 4+ years to collect this much trauma so it’s going to take a little more than minute to heal from it.

When your BIPOC, queer, or disabled friends haven’t quite bounced back, remember they just lived through an election cycle where their worth, rights, dignity and frankly their lives were debated on a 24 hour loop.

Then they watched 70 million people vote against their human rights.

You don’t recover from that wound overnight.

We have proven these past 4 years that we are tough as fuck, but don’t forget we’re also tender.

The tough part gets all the glory, but the tender part is what makes us MAGIC!

Don’t let them steal our magic.

Stay tender my friends.

I ❤️ you. I ❤️ us

* I’m not an American, but I’m married to one, and I parent one.

** These are just my thoughts as a white trans man. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be a BIPOC American right now. If you like me are white, I encourage you to go follow some folks who’s skin doesn’t look like yours, support them (when possible, put your $ to use) learn from them, help them by just holding space and listening to their truths. We are bound to fuck it up- hell, I likely fucked this up. But that’s how we stay tender, we apologize, listen make it right,and then LISTEN some more.