Ready for that group hug yet? 

Earlier this week, I wrote that a nasty presidential campaign was fueling the worst in everyone and predicted a close election result. Still, I didn’t quite expect this.

I didn’t foresee many of my friends and former colleagues to collectively lose their minds. I didn’t anticipate the Canadian immigration website to crash. I didn’t expect to witness many TV pundits suffer on-air meltdowns while watching the final results. When I heard longtime GOP consultant Karl Rove likening the situation to electing P.T. Barnum to office, I knew the struggle was real on all sides.

For some of us, this election is so stunning it’s hard to really get your head around it. In these hours following the reality that Donald Trump is our President-elect, it’s likely still sinking in.

In large part, it’s stunning because the pre-election poll data was so blaringly wrong, something that will continue to be explored for months and years. I also wonder about the ongoing degradation of traditional journalism. When will people stop blaming the media and realize the lack of a solid journalism pool is a real problem? Simply because journalists hold the powerful accountable – and trust me, it takes a lot of work to do that.

I was up until 4 a.m. watching the results, my phone buzzing non-stop. I must seem like the right person to contact in the middle of the night during a political stunner. Still awake when President-elect Trump delivered what was probably the most reverential speech he’s ever given, I also heard someone in the crowd yell, "Kill Obama!" There it was in the middle of a stunning triumph: fear and hatred.

Everyone who reached out to me last night seemed steeped in disbelief, and begged me to tell them something "rational" and comforting.

Here’s what I can offer:

There are many reasons why Trump is our President-elect, and we should not lose all faith in any social or moral progress our country has made.

There is something very fascinating about a populist choice, for better or for worse. Our nation’s voters were heard and made history electing the first man to the presidency who has never held elected office. Remember all those parties you went to when you’d do something slightly scandalous and remark, "Well. I guess I just blew my chances for elected office"? There’s no need to say that anymore.

If you aren’t a Trump supporter, try to summon the courage to support him and the office of the presidency. He really does need it. Please don’t tell your kids we just elected an orange monster.

If you are a Hillary supporter, find some solace that we just had a woman from a major political party on the presidential ballot for the very first time. And it appears she won the popular vote (I know that might make it feel worse, but still – Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, an Oscar and a Grammy after he won the popular vote and lost the presidency!)

If you are a Trump supporter, be kind to those who aren’t. Search for the humble inside. Acknowledge Hillary Clinton’s decades of public service and endless fighting spirit. I truly believe we will elect a woman to the presidency one day, and we can thank her for that.

It wasn’t so long ago that George W. Bush was our president, and in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, few had faith in him. I remember on the day of the attacks, as I covered the President in Florida, the tangible fear Americans had that he was in charge. It ended up being perhaps the strongest moment of his presidency. I remember thinking even presidents can rise up in our greatest need for leadership, like rookie athletes. That’s what America is sometimes – that underdog who knocks one out of the park. You may not like Trump’s victory, but it certainly is impressive.

It also wasn’t so far back when we first elected our current president Barack Obama, who many vehemently feared (and still do). Many Americans didn’t do the greatest job coming around to support him, and it had tremendous consequences of all kinds. Fear is the greatest divider of all. Not a man, but fear of that man. 

I don’t want to negate the legitimate pain people feel today. It is real. But let’s find some things we can all celebrate. The unbelievably nice weather in Wisconsin this late in the fall. The wealth of material for professional comedians now (they’ve been hurting since W.). The idea that hugging your friends and family always can make it better.

Perhaps consider embracing some people who don’t believe what you do – and maybe then we’re on our way to that increasingly important all-American group hug.