Big Girl Panties

   If this year's election was unlike any other I can remember, this year's aftermath is even stranger. Most of us felt there were no good choices for president, so voting for the "lesser of two evils" was even more necessary than usual. So when, despite all predictions and celebrity endorsements, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton, there was literal wailing and gnashing of teeth from the left leaning. There were also protests, shouting matches and civil disobedience. But not here, where people are much more civilized than in the cities. Although today I saw a lone protestor standing on Main Street with her "Not My President" sign. I thought that took a lot of courage for a couple reasons. For one thing, Kalispell is mostly conservative, second, carrying that sign is like publicly proclaiming "I don't understand how elections work" or "I'm too immature to accept decisions I don't like". If the election had gone the other way, I really can't picture Trump supporters crying or blocking highways.
     When Hillary realized she had lost the election, she put on her big girl panties and accepted defeat. It is time for her supporters to do the same. (Especially since she asked them to.) Their behavior reminds me of my preschoolers at the grocery store check stand throwing a fit if I didn't buy them the toy or candy they wanted. I told them, "If you can't get what you want by being good, you will never get it by being naughty." Or the short version, "You git what you git and you don't throw a fit." The only grounds for protest at this point, would be if someone had been prevented from voting for the candidate of his/her choice. There is a time for supporting your candidate. And there is a time for putting on your big girl panties, accepting what has happened, and getting on with your life. Most of us have had many "Not my president/governor/mayor/etc." experiences in our lifetime. We deal with it. Life goes on.
     I did not know which candidate God would use to fulfill his purposes for our nation, and (this time) I did not try to tell Him what to do (although my husband did). But I wonder if, after so many years of playing the race card under Obama, God wanted to spare our country from further polarization of Hillary using the gender card. I have no problems with a woman president, but the presidency is no place for the affirmative action agenda of using under-represented, but under-qualified, minorities. Unfortunately, those were our only choices. Yes, billionaires are a minority too. Election day was our chance to speak up, now it is time to shut up and grow up. And for coping with chaos, nothing trumps humor.