We Did Not Know What Was Coming Series: Random Thoughts Five Days Before I Leave for the Women’s Justice March

PREFACE: To say the last seven years have been a journey of growth for me and this country is an understatement. To help me process and cope with the roller-coaster of emotions I have felt these years, I started writing on Medium right after the 2016 election. My last series ended December 31, 2020, after Biden won the presidential election.

Recently I realized I missed writing “in my journal” and decided to go back to the very beginning and re-read my essays. I wanted to see where I started out on November 9, 2016, and where I am now. I decided to repost my favorite blogs with a short present-day commentary and continue onto current times.

I hope a few of you will join me on this journey of recollection, reflection, and learning. Little did we know what we were headed into.

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Random Thoughts Five Days Before I Leave for the Women’s Justice March: January 15, 2017

I leave for Washington D.C. on Friday morning January 20th. My son, M, lives in DC and will be waiting for me at the airport. He and I will attend the march together on the 21st. I will fly home early the 22nd. I have so many thoughts flying about in my head and think it would be interesting to get them down on paper. Here goes in absolutely no order of value or importance:

· Thank God I am flying on the 20th. I will miss the entire inauguration. I cannot believe Trump is going to be president. How did this happen? I am still in shock.

· The head count is 200,000 marchers. Wouldn’t it be great if a million women and men show up? Dreams are allowed.

· I am praying for all of us marching. I am praying for all the men and women who will work to protect the city that day and keep us all safe. I am praying for those who do not support our message.

· Could ISIS use this event to launch a terrorist attack?

· I am more scared about not finding a port-a-pottie if I need one. I must go buy Depends and experiment before Friday. Should I wear one or two? Will it look weird through my yoga pants? OMG — is this I have to look forward to as I age?

· I am disappointed I will not be able to meet up with friends who are attending the march. M said it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I am thrilled we can text each other and share pictures all day long.

· Who would have thought one grandmother’s lament to a friend suggesting a protest the day after the inauguration could spawn a march of this size? The power of an idea + social media = yikes!

· So far we know more than 300 simultaneous local protests will occur on the 21st, across all 50 states and support marches are planned in 30 other countries. Amazing.

· I am so proud to be walking with my son. There is no other person on this earth I would rather share this experience with.

· I am proud I booked my ticket on November 11th before we were sure there was even going to be a march.

· How many pink pussycat hats will we see? My friend, MR, knit mine. I am delighted to wear it.

· What about placards? I will have to ask M to order poster board and markers. Just went through Facebook pictures of #WhyIMarch. Many signs are moving; others are so funny! I love grandmothers are marching, young boys and girls are marching, all colors, all sizes, genders, sexual identification. I feel even more energized. It seems there will be several thousand “official” signs made available to marchers. I wonder if we will be lucky to get two.

· Please, please, please let this march move to the next phase of focused action. It will feel good to protest together but we must each find our issue and give our time and energy to that issue to make a difference — to affect change.

· Hillary, do you see how badly we wanted you and how angry we are the election was stolen from you?

· Even from such darkness on the 20th, good can come. I have not moved into action in such a way for decades. What a wonderful opportunity to model and teach our young women and men they can say NO! STOP! UNACCEPTABLE! to an administration committed to the few not the many.

· Just checked the DC weather forecast for the 21st. Normally it is sub-zero in January. This year the weather channel predicts 52 degrees with 10% chance of rain. I have to remember to pack my umbrella!

· Will Trump and his people even notice us? Will the members of Congress even notice us? Thank goodness the press will notice.

· Martin Luther King would be sad we are still fighting these battles. He would also be proud we have not given up and even happy we have made a bit of headway. Thank you, Rep. John Lewis, for your courage in naming the illegitimacy of Trump’s presidency.

· Yesterday I saw a 1970 picture with Gloria Steinem and Angela Davis standing side by side arms raised in defiance. Right next to it, the women more than 40 years later stand together in the same pose. It is amazing to see. These women have never given up; neither can we.

· DC City Councilman Charles Allen said as of Thursday, January 12th, 393 charter bus permits had been requested for the inauguration. He also reported that all of the city’s 1,200 available charter bus parking spaces at RFK Stadium have been filled for the Women’s March. He said there could be more buses coming for the march and parking in other locations. Please, let that be so!

· I am thinking about my slogan sign again. Do I make a statement demanding repair of the Affordable Care Act not repeal? Do I speak out for our Dreamers and their families? Do I advocate for women’s equality? Do I demand to see Trump’s tax returns for the last five years? Do I stand with our LGBT community? Planned Parenthood? Roe vs Wade? Oh goodness there is so much that is wrong with this incoming administration…. sigh.

Well, there is a measure of calm (one of those qualities of light) within me now. Naming really helps. I will pray for the highest good to come out of this walk and many others happening around the country even as I write this. There is so much good in people. Thank goodness.

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Commentary: November 16, 2023

From where I sit today, I will say that the Women’s March, January 21, 2017, was — and remains — one of the five most impactful experiences of my life. I am 70 years old so that says a lot.

Tomorrow I will share the essay I wrote three days after one million women went to Washington DC and reflect on the ripple effects being felt seven years later.

What a glorious glorious day it was.