Those of you who are personal friends know that I am a social liberal. Post election I would support a candidate who was fiscally conservative but stayed the hell out of our personal business. Those folks really don’t exist, however, and certainly the current President-Elect is not that man. Today I am depressed, but hope that he rises to the occasion and becomes, finally, presidential. I have my doubts. And the fact that the Canadian immigration website crashed last night confirms my suspicion that many US citizens are looking for the exits and they, too, have their doubts.

So now what? Will he be able to do all of the horrible things he has suggested? Deportations? A wall? Cozy up to Putin? Make millions of people lose their health insurance? Destroy the environment? And who will surround this new president? If I continue I might hyperventilate. I have the paper bag nearby.

My friend Erik said one year, after a tough election, “Now they have to show us they can govern.” We’ll see. And in two years we have the mid-terms, and there is hope for some moderation. In the meantime, as an American, I will continue to believe in our government and in our country and hope that as Americans we will choose to do the right thing. Still, I’m happy to live in a blue state.

A couple of positive things happened this week: they took away the President-Elect’s smartphone, so the 3 AM tweets have come to an end. It’s a small thing, but I’ll take it. And Massachusetts legalized marijuana. Between that and vodka martinis I may just get through this. Somebody hand me my paper bag.

Deborah