For as long as I can remember my Nana wore the same pin every single day. It was a simple safety pin filled from end to end with tiny shoes representing each of her chicks. I cannot remember a day she did not put that pin on-even in illness on a bathrobe. For me that pin would always represent love, the knowledge that I was cherished, and the safety I could find in sight of that pin.
Like many of us I have searched relentlessly this week for something positive, something hopeful, to hold onto and help to calm and confirm that it's all going to be OK...it has not been easy. But forward we must go and somehow, someway, find the most peaceful path to not only change what an election could not, but also make it clear to everyone in this country, and in this world, that we are there for one another. We must demonstrate everyday in as many ways possible that we care and that we vow to always stand with, support, and cherish those who are facing fear from a country whose ugly underside has been revealed, a country that has forgotten, or never knew, the fundamental place that grew this nation-empathy and a welcoming celebration of our differences.
No, my vote didn't matter-but heart must! There has already been ugly and scarring vitriol and rhetoric and actions, but for ourselves and our children, especially our children, kindness is the only answer to those who obviously do not understand the country they claim to want to take back.
As the UK dealt with their Brexit vote many took to wearing a Safety Pin to demonstrate that they would be a safe presence, not threatening, for anyone who might be facing fear. As we enter our own new and anxious existence I wear Nana's pin for her, the lessons she taught me, and to show that I care and I will do what I can to keep kindness and hope moving forward.
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