A New Day.

I wrote about how I felt the day after he won.

A year later, I came back to write about what my experience was like on Election Day 2016. (Spoiler alert: was not good. 0 out of 10. Would not recommend.)

Occasionally I’d fill you in on how I was feeling the first and second years of his presidency, and I think you can guess what the overall sentiment was. It’s the same sentiment I held onto all four years he was in the White House:

• Anger
• Sadness
• Disappointment
• Bewilderment
• Rage

…to name a few.

I’d be lying to you if I said I was fired up during the 2020 Presidential election. Honestly? I was tired. I swore he’d win again and I didn’t want to endure it a second time. I had Democratic candidates I really liked, and had to watch as the inevitability sunk in that they wouldn’t get the nomination. When it looked more and more obvious that another old white dude was going to be on the ticket, I wasn’t exactly running to the streets to campaign, knock on doors or hit the phones to shout, VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN!

I mean, I knew *I* would vote for Joe Biden. I really *liked* Joe Biden when he was the VP under Obama. There was nothing particularly *wrong* with Joe Biden.

But like I said. I was tired.

I tweeted this in January 2019. lol.

But something happened this year. I don’t remember when. I guess you can say I’m a glutton for punishment, because I got energized. I got over my disappointment that Elizabeth Warren didn’t get the nom (YOU COULDA HAD A BAD BITCH, AMERICA) and realized that while not perfect — and who is, quite frankly — Joe was the guy. And he was a good guy. And even more exciting: he picked Kamala Harris as his VP choice sometime this summer. And THAT woke me up even more.

So I tuned in. I donated. I watched every debate and provided my commentary on social media like some kind of pundit. I scoured Twitter for updates, I watched CNN almost daily and I talked to friends and family about the election…a lot. One thing I didn’t do? Look at the polls. Because polls are trash.

So, October 27, 2020: Leo and I vote early. It’s pretty anticlimactic. We wait on line for about 30 minutes, receive no sticker (WHAT does a girl have to do to get an “I Voted” sticker?? I’ve LITERALLY never gotten one) and then go home to make/eat dinner. Woohoo. I always loved voting on actual Election Day, but as we know…this year is weird. So we vote early, and we wait.

We wait a lot.

I don’t need to tell you what Tuesday, November 3 through Saturday, November 6 was like. It was painful. Torturous, at times. I told friends it felt like I ran all 26 miles of the New York City marathon, stopped right before the finish line and just hung out there reading a book for a few days. At this point, it looked REALLY good for Biden (like, REALLY good) and we were RIGHT at the finish line, but couldn’t quite cross it yet.

So how did I survive those long, anxiety-ridden days? With the help of all my pals at CNN (shout-out to the squad), friends and family who were equally stressed and engaged, and of course, the REAL winner of 2020: the memes.

We had PEAK internet/social media those few days and I won’t even try to compile my favorites but my god, it helped. I never thought I’d laugh so hard at memes about the state of Nevada, but then again… nothing about this year was predictable or normal.

I was glued to all of the coverage, day and night, but I was happy to FINALLY get a break on Saturday. Leo and I were headed into NYC to celebrate our one-year anniversary (a week early) doing some of our favorite things: Central Park, a steakhouse, and staying overnight at a hotel. So Saturday morning I was getting ready and packing — with CNN on in the background, of course — and just as we were about to leave the house…

They call it.

I screamed, I think? I likely shouted profanities? I turned to Leo, overcome with emotions, just kind of like… WHAT DO I DO????? I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PROCESS THIS!! WE ALSO HAVE TO GET IN THE CAR BECAUSE WE ARE ALREADY BEHIND SCHEDULE!

I have my moment of relief, tears of joy and elation, but we do leave the house. It felt weird to just abandon Wolf Blitzer during this pivotal moment in history, but there was also something REALLY exciting about heading into the city for this, too. Luckily, Leo got CNN on Sirius Radio so we could listen in the car…and then the fun REALLY started.

As we drove into the city, the energy was overwhelming. You felt it. You saw it. YOU HEARD IT. People were in the streets cheering, dancing, waving flags and the most jubilant I have ever seen humans in a very, VERY long time. Car horns honked incessantly — a sound New Yorkers are familiar with but usually NOT for good reasons — and it was one big party. And before you get all up in arms about partying during a pandemic:

1. EVERYONE I saw had masks on.
2. We needed this one day. OK? We needed it.

I told you that the 2020 election — and the year itself — made me tired. Well? My ass was woken up. I want to hold onto that feeling forever; it was the most beautiful day and I’ll truly never forget it. It was the perfect Part 2 to that sad, grim day in 2016 when so many of us felt the exact opposite. This was so incredibly satisfying.

The joy parade continued through the afternoon and night as Leo and I left dinner and saw others eating outdoors; watching Kamala and Joe’s speeches on their phones at the table. We walked 20 blocks back to our hotel and I, too, watched the speeches from my phone, and got to see the tail-end of them in our hotel lobby — where a slew of other hotel guests cheered and clapped and celebrated what we all think will be a better America going forward.

By the way, here’s what I’m NOT going to talk about today:

• Trump being a sore loser and attempting to cheat his way to a win. (SHOCKING! A known liar and cheater is trying to lie and cheat his way to a second term?! Why I never!)
• Four Seasons Total Landscaping (even though I REALLY want to)
• The threat of our democracy and the prominent Republicans who are allowing this charade to continue

Nope. That’s all just noise; noise that I hope and pray will slowly go quiet into the night and fade away into oblivion. I know it won’t happen immediately, but my god: it’ll be another beautiful day when it happens.

If you’re still here and still reading, thank you. I know I don’t come on here very often anymore, but I told you I’ll usually creep on back for the big stuff. And this? This is big.

I’ll leave you with this; what I posted on Facebook right after the big news:

A MOMENT. Historic. We made Donald Trump a one-term President. We elected the first black woman into the White House. HUGE. For so many of us, we can finally take a breath knowing that a four-year nightmare is ending. I choose to believe that Joe Biden can help get us out of this Covid mess, unite the country and allow us to heal from what has been a really difficult term under this incumbent President. I know this election has been polarizing and divisive and has caused more friction and tension than ever but I HOPE we can finally begin taking the path to a better America.

The thing is, we have to all want it. Until then, I’ll be celebrating.