Dear Daughter

Dear Maevy -

Yesterday morning I broke the news that there wasn't going to be a woman president. You immediately broke into tears, which of course made me cry. I think the tears were mostly because - you had heard Trump was going to put anyone that voted for Clinton in jail. I reassured you that this wasn't true - and everything was going to be fine. And I hope one day soon we'll be able to vote again for a woman.

By the end of the day you had brushed the whole thing off. We watched Hillary's speech together and when you saw people crying in the audience, you responded - "There's no reason to get emotional. It's going to be okay." And when she talked about pursuing your dreams - you said "Yeah, got it." Like, of course, duh HRC. No one's stopping me.

The most fun part - since you are currently obsessed with your new awesome math skills - was chatting about the Electoral College. Her winning the popular vote and not the election didn't make much sense to you. Then we figured out different scenarios where if she had won this state or that state, then she would have gotten the 270 needed. You recommended that she should have won Florida and Texas, since they had the most electoral votes.

Here's my favorite part from the speech -
"And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me, I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.

Now, I — I know — I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some day someone will and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. And — and to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams."

I took the news a little harder - and spent most of the day teary-eyed...still am as I write this. Mr. Trump has openly said a lot of not nice things about a lot people, including women and disabled people. That type of behavior is never acceptable (or presidential), and as a mother of two daughters and a son with a disability, it hurts. 

To little girl-me who as has been dreaming of breaking this glass ceiling for years, it really hurt. Looking back, I probably should have been Women's Studies major. In elementary school, I always chose a woman for non-fiction book reports/projects - Clara Barton, Carol Burnett, Eudora Welty are a few I remember. In middle school, I chose to write about my own mother's life for a class speech contest, and won. In the 8th grade, my first official research paper was about the Equal Rights Amendment, At one point, I even wanted to be President. So much so - that my first email address ever - had "thepres" in it. In high school, I went to Girls State. I chose the D.C area for college, to study politics and intern on Capitol Hill. I'm still proud that I was accepted to George Washington University's Women in Power program. On days like this - I wish I had gone and was still paying off the debt. Hillary's still my champion. Maybe one day you'll write about her.

Regardless of who is in the White House - please know that I will always protect you. I will forever teach you to love and support everyone in this country - regardless of race, sex, or religion, to speak up for those that can't, for what you believe in, and when something is wrong. I will help you to learn to understand those that you disagree with and more importantly how to solve conflicts in a civil manner.

"...let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary, let us not lose heart, for there are more seasons to come. And there is more work to do."

 Always know - you are bright, strong, funny, and beautiful. I'll forever be your champion.

Love,

Mom