A post election party and a sigh of relief.
Woo! 2020 has been a year but at least we were able to take a full breath on Saturday. It was a long week. For me it was the anticipation of voting on Tuesday. I felt like things were going to be okay but still there was that little part inside the feared we would repeat 2016. I know we are better than this. We don't tolerate hate, we can unite and make sure that everyone has a good life. It has to happen! Well, I voted on Tuesday and continued to work. I didn't turn on the TV or go to social media to check the outcome. It was a combination of things; I didn't want to stress myself out since now it's out of my hands and I geniuely had things to do. I knew that if I turned on the television I would go through a rabbit hole and I would feel stressed. Ironically the wait was more than anticipated and it took days. Still I told myself, I rather it take this long and all the votes get counted. We have to do the right thing. Then came Saturday, I woke up late that morning and yes I did check even though I knew there was no updates. If there were any updates my friends would have messaged me. I started my day and went to the track to run since I am still training for my 5K.
I get to the park and of course it's full since its a gorgeous day. I get to it and I was so annoyed, people were playing on the track, walking opposite directions and being so inconsiderate. I was cursing but I just told myself let it go and run. Then suddenly during my run multiple cars started honking their horns like crazy. People started screaming. Honestly I thought it was just the stress of the past week and people were just all in unison shouting. I kept running and it was the same thing, guy on the track playing soccer and people honking their cars. Okay! Wow, we are losing it. Do what you have to do. I finished my run and more honking, more people cheering. They weren't saying anything just screaming. I walked home a bit annoyed with the whole situation. Then I grabbed my phone to check my stats on my Fitbit tracker and I see tons of text messages from my friends. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got 270 Electoral Votes and he is not the President-Elect! This can't be! Wait this is why everyone was honking their cars? I ran upstairs and logged on to social media and kept checking my messages. Wow! I felt a sense of calmness. I was so happy but my emotion didn't show it. I was trying to cool down from my workout and this felt so unreal. This is not like me then I had a moment and did a little dance.
I logged on to instagram and my friend Cara from The Champagne Diet went live and she was in the East Village. People were dancing in the streets, music blasting, there were a few girls on the fire escape playing music for the neighborhood. It looked like so much fun. I made a comment on her live feed and she told me to meet her. I don't like crowds, especially now with the virus but decided to meet her. I took a shower, texted her and ran to the city. I met up with Cara, her boyfriend, brother and sister in law at Greenwich Village then we walk to Washington Square Park. It was a party. People had speakers, signs, they were dancing, cheering each other on and popping bottles. I was a little nervous, excited, felt proud and everyone had a mask on. We took pictures of the crowd and just enjoyed the moment. New York is tough but we are also very united. When we celebrate, we embrace each other we amp each other up and share the joy. It was a moment of relief. I know politics is a sensitive subject for many and it's never perfect but these last four years have not been about politics, it has been a hate filled and a fear mongering agenda. We can't live like this. We are better than this.
We continued to walk and there was a party in every corner. We walked towards the East Village and went to a wine shop and Cara bought two bottles of Champagne. I mean she is the Champagne Diet after all. We popped the bottle in the middle of the street and toasted to a new beginnings and a new sense of normalcy. And of course our first woman Vice President, Kamala Harris! Alas, we are progressing!
We walked towards St. Marks and people were eating, dancing and drinking on the streets. We rolled up to another group that were on their balcony, jamming. I saw two people with Puerto Rican flags and I began shouting BORICUA!!! as if it was a call into the wild and they responded back. That felt good. We continued to walk the neighborhood and it was a bit calmer but the restaurants and bars were buzzing. They were filled with life, you can sense their joy. I am so glad that Cara invited me and we shared this momentous occasion in our history together. We headed to a bar and we enjoyed a great conversation. We told each other tonight we celebrate and then we get back to work. Just for one day let's take a breath. We know it's not perfect, this country has a lot to do to improve but we needed this.