Author: mattvertefeuille

Good morning!

How’s your election anxiety? I stopped posting last night because there was nothing new to report in.

It’s a sunny day, and expected to be warmer than yesterday. The rest of the week looks very pleasant.

Arizona has been called for Biden. There are scenarios in which Biden will win, even if he loses PA, but he’d have to carry Wisconsin and Michigan. Last I heard, they were both looking good. Even Georgia is awaiting votes from around the Atlanta area and is proving to be a close race. Emma tells me she’s going to “manifest” some blue votes today, so you’re in good hands.

I dropped Helena off at school and decided to treat myself to a fancy coffee. Ori and I are going to be outside as much as we can.

Michigan officials are confident of having results by later this afternoon. Wisconsin may wait until tomorrow. PA is enjoying it’s time in the sun.

It’s closer than I would have liked. Maybe closer for you, too.

Get outside this week. Take care of yourselves.

M

11pm:

A lot of talk about Arizona right now, which is leaning blue. An Arizona win would mean Trump would need to hold PA, AND take one of the northern swing states in order to win.

9pm:

Lots of results in now and I’ve relocated to my friend’s place to watch coverage. Florida is looking decidedly Trump, as are the two other wishful-thinking states of Georgia and North Carolina.

As to be expected, the coverage on ABC is a lot of conjecture based on very early numbers. They say Ohio is looking closer than expected.

It’ll be a longer night than I hoped.

7:30pm:

Took several hours in between posts. In that time I got yelled at for about an hour by a toddler who didn’t want to go outside, but was fine once we got outside. I felt better, too, for a while. It’s been a cold day and we were cooped up. It’s supposed to warm up later this week, thankfully.

Election results are coming in and Florida isn’t looking good, though it was consistently polling Trump’s way. Numbers out of Miami (my understanding is these are early-voting numbers, which supposedly favor Biden) are particularly grim.

Kentucky and WestVirginia have been called for Trump; Vermont for Biden.

Settle in.

2pm:

Just picked Helena up from school. She said her class voted for the best dinosaur today. I’m not sure if the teachers are trying to be funny, but that’s pretty clever.

10am-Noon:

Ori and I go out for a walk!

• 

Every day, around 10am, Ori and I head outside. With the exception of heavy rain, we’ve been successful in getting out each day. It’s windy today, and cold, so we bundle up. My Uncle Sam hat blows around in the breeze.

We get back home and Ori wants to go out back into the swing set. After 5 minutes or so she realizes it’s cold. We go in, have a snack, and I put her down for her nap.

Today I think back to 4 years ago. Helena was only a few months old, born into a country that had elected (and re-elected!) its first Black president. We were about to elect our first woman president. I was happy for her, to be born into that world.

A couple of things that I think are worth reminding people of:

A Donald Trump presidency is genuinely traumatic for large segments of our population, whether it be survivors of sexual assault, immigrants, people confronted by everyday racism, people of high empathy, etc… Please be kind to yourself, and kind to the people around you.

The polls are looking good for Biden, and have been consistent over time. If Biden wins every state that he is projected to, he’ll already have enough points in the electoral college to win, without even taking into account several “swing” states that are toss-ups at this point.

So there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic. However, if you are a person who was severely disappointed by the election results of 4 years ago, you may want to do some self check-ins.

https://www.vogue.com/article/how-to-handle-election-anxiety-according-to-mental-health-experts

See you in a few.

M

8-9am: Ori and I get back home and I make coffee. I put the coffee in my “Best Dad Ever” mug.

• 

I briefly wonder if Donald Trump has a “Best Dad Ever” mug and, if so, who would give him one. I bet you Joe Biden gets one every year.

I’m only half kidding.

I check the news for the first of what I suspect will be 1,000 times today. I start with the sites I usually go to, but I’m sure by the end of the day I’ll be on over 20 unique sites. It’s that kind of day. The news says that there’s no news yet. The election may be a total blowout, or “closer than people think.” The media has been very…..careful this time around.

Then, Ori and I make egg sandwiches.

• 

• 

Brushing Helena’s hair, I feel, is one of the crowning achievements of our parenting. What used to be a screaming session at the mere thought gradually evolved into a sprint around the house and now a resigned “ok”. We’re off to school!

We get in the car and I fill out this morning’s COVID screening tool. No symptoms, because this kid’s ready to face the day.

A great song plays while we drive; both Helena and I are keeping beat. It’s cold out, but much more mild than yesterday. Good start to the day.

• 

7am, Election Day 2020

Helena’s having a hard time getting dressed for school this morning because of her newfound fear of Donald Trump.

I don’t know why it took her until just before Election Day to develop this fear, but now Donald Trump is some sort of boogeyman who’s going to come to our house and prevent her from putting on socks.

This man needs to be voted out ASAP. You don’t fuck with my kids socks.

Welcome to Dad’s Election Day blog.