Do you remember in “The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers,” when Sister Bear is lying awake and they illustrate the headlines swirling in her head? That’s me. I’m Sister Bear. I have the swirlies. “Silly Goose Missing!” “Wily Fox Questioned!”

I need to do something with my nervous energy other than sitting and aggressively refreshing an election map (that’s for tonight and tomorrow, probably). 

So, what to do in Richmond on an Election Day, when the kids are out of school and your blood pressure is high and all you can do is phase in and out of life like Anxiety in Inside Out 2?

My schedule: I’m taking the kids with me to vote, then we’ll all go out for bagels and then we want to see Maymont in the daylight after visiting Garden Glow over the weekend and realizing the kids have never seen the Japanese Garden (so many bridges!) in natural light.

Some things you could do:

Vote. Obviously. Please. If you haven’t. It’s not too late (unless, of course, it’s after 7pm on Tuesday, in which case, yes it is and you need to do better because we need your voice.)

Other than that, I know lots of people don’t have the flexibility of schedule that I have, even with kids out of school. In which case, choose what works for you with the time you have, but please take care of yourself and your blood pressure. Take breaks and don’t scroll, but choose to do something fun, productive, kind, or all of the above. 

• Donate to RVA Community Fridges mutual aid

• Write a thank you note to your kid’s teacher(s)

• Support a local Richmond charitable organization. Some ideas:

  • The Read Center

  • Feed More

  • Soar 365 (it’s not just a playground)

• Support a local business by getting out of the house and going out to eat (and maybe leave your phone in the car). Some ideas:

  • Perk (dino shaped grilled cheese!)

  • Ruby Scoops for ice cream

  • Gelati Celesti for ice cream

  • Bev's for ice cream

  • Basically, ice cream!

• Support a local bookstore like Fountain or Book People and buy The Small and The Mighty by Sharon McMahon

• Read The Small and the Mighty and get inspired to do the next small thing forward

• Put on some music (may I suggest Ooh La La by Guster) and belt out some calming inspirational songs like “Keep Going,” and “Keep it Together” (from their Ganging Up on the Sun album)

Some additional suggestions from People Via Plants via our conversation on Threads last night: 

“Ice cream and fuzzy socks, a long shower, a tv show that makes you laugh, and anything on earth that has the possibility of making any moment feel a little better.” 

Stay home or go out, get off your phone or use Merlin ID to find a new bird in your neighborhood. Treat yourself nicely, so you can in turn treat others nicely. 

Love you. Be well.