This spreadsheet has been part of my daily life for over four years. I meticulously gathered contact info for all 253 elected officials, kept track of committees, when I contacted them, what they said, etc. It helped me navigate the (unnecessarily) large Pennsylvania legislature and made my life so much easier.

And now it gets to go into retirement, like me.

It’s bittersweet because lobbying is what I know I was created to do, but I now believe it was for this issue alone, not as a career. I can retire in peace, though I do plan to help some other mamas navigate this process in honor of their babies. I will not let these hard earned lessons go to waste.

I do not know what the future holds, but for now, I am enjoying the peace I feel. I knew I was majorly stressed about the bill but I didn’t know just how stressed until it passed last night. It feels like a literal weight has been lifted off of me. And it was worth it all.