Hopeful – that’s my word of the week.

Minnesota has a trifecta in state government for the next two years. The candidates I voted for all won – from my state Representative and Senator, to US Representative McCollum, to all of our statewide offices, and all the way to Governor Klobuchar and Senator Flanagan! Oh, it’s awesomely fun to say Senator Flanagan!

Now what?

Now, I get to work. I need to reach out to my elected officials and raise my voice to help protect Medicaid home and community-based services which are constantly under attack by the Trump administration. States are going to have to make difficult choices this year when all of the big ugly bill cuts take effect. If you believe it’s important that people with disabilities live in their communities, it’s time to be loud! It’s time to share your stories of why these services matter. We need to strengthen supports and services and not pull them out from under us – that’s been happening from both sides of the aisle over this past couple years.

So, anyway, this week I celebrate and next week, it’s time to get to work!