A note for the people like me...

I am grateful for and support people who can spring into action when  terrible things happen.

 I am not one of them.

And that's ok. 

It's ok if you are like this too.

I burrow down and curl into a little cocoon until I feel strong and secure enough to resurface and THEN I get to work. After the election results in November, I went numb for a week. I was not able to do anything. Not in just an "ACTIVIST!!!" way, but in a being-a-functional-adult way. I had to burrow down. I had to prioritize sleeping and eating and bathing and communicating with my husband and friends and allowing myself to do things that make me feel safe, secure, even happy, because those basic things took up everything I had in me.

The fog lasted a week. And after that week I broke through it and then I got to work. I researched, I called my reps, I donated.

Right now I feel overwhelmed. I feel helpless. I feel frozen.  

I know this will pass.

Right now it is ok for me to cocooon. It's ok if it lasts a week. I will become active later. 

It is ok if you need to cocoon, too. You are not a coward or failing your country. You're a human being processing your feelings and responding to crisis. Do what you need to take care of yourself now so you can contribute, in whatever form that takes, later.

I will make calls to my government reps later. I will donate to organizations later. I will fundraise later. Even though I am absolutely terrified to do so, tomorrow I march with a small group of friends I love. That last thing is too soon for me and way past my comfort zone even on a good day, but I will do it as long as I'm there with my community.

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Here are some resources I have been using already or will be using when I break through my cocooning period:

The 65
A weekly call to action that instructs you on who to call in congress about which issues and what to say. Perfect for folks like me who need a structured, focused, achievable task.

8 Ways to Resist Trump
A good general guide to help you figure out where to even start.

Calling Cards
There's a lot of representatives we're being told to contact in the government; these fill-in-the-blank flash cards can help you remember whose name goes with which position and what their number is.

10 Ways to Resist Donald Trump
Honestly, I've only skimmed this, because I get intimidated and overwhelmed each time. Its tagline is "Activists Share Concrete Actions You Can Take Right Now". I will sit down and read this in its entirety. 

How to Secure Your Info In The Time of Voldemort: Some Handy Guides
and
Keep It Tidy, part 1
Articles on securing your digital privacy that I skim and then stop reading because I become overwhelmed and intimidated. I will read these in their entirety later.

5 Calls
Hearing good things about this site, which gives you a really streamline and scripted way to contact your government reps about the day's most pressing issues.

And, of course, here are some of the organizations I will be donating to over the course of 2017:
Planned Parenthood, Abortion Fund, The ACLU, Scarleteen, and Trans Lifeline.

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It's ok if you feel overwhelmed right now.

Take care of yourself.

Take care of yourself now so you'll be able to contribute later.