If this election has proved anything, it has proved that America needs a mom.

Really, it needs an army of moms.

There is something about moms that they always want to make sure that everyone feels loved and is getting along. To be fair, making sure everyone is getting along can be an annoying trait at times. Seriously. Sometimes a person just has to fight. And if you’re in a family that is more aggressive than passive-aggressive, that can get pretty entertaining at times. But you know that whatever happens, you’ll have mom to fall back on. She’ll pick up the pieces. That’s what moms do.

My mom is a pretty great example of this. She has exhibited these traits for the past thirty-two years.

To give you a bit of background, my brother is pretty amazing. He does, after all, share most of my genes, and I’m sure if you ever have the chance of meeting him, you’ll adore him as much as I do. Now I know I’m a bit biased, but I have a lot of life experience to be able to come to this conclusion. We grew up in the same house, went to the same K-12, had most of the same teachers, and even went to the same university and shared the same group of friends. So if anyone would know he was great, it would be me (and of course his amazing wife and beautiful children, but you get the point).

On the other hand, because we have so much shared experience with each other, we know how to get under each other’s skin pretty easily. Something that mom has witnessed a time or two.

This past summer my whole family went on a vacation in northern Michigan and spent a glorious week on a beautiful lake. We had five kids three and under in one house. It. Was. Chaos. We knew that we had to be on our best behavior to make sure that this would run smoothly. I remember specifically telling my husband (who dislikes any sort of conflict) that I would be on my best behavior and not bring up any controversial subjects.

That lasted less than twelve hours.

By the end of the first night, my brother and I had “discussed” the election, gun control, abortion, gay rights, Black Lives Matter, religious freedom, and I’m sure a few other slightly charged topics.

Well, shoot.

We still had six days of vacationing together. In a crowded house. With a lot of people who whined and cried a lot. And only some of those were of the child variety.

But guess what? We had a wonderful time. And while my dad is quite the delightful person, it wasn’t him who pulled the group together (I’m fairly sure he slid off with my husband into another room that was not debating the day’s hottest topics ). No, it was my mom who constantly tried to find a common ground between us (even when there was a chasm of thought to jump over).

Mom was in the thick of the discussion (and if I’m remembering correctly, she might have started the topic of conversation, so we should really tell my husband it was her fault), and every time there was a breath of air to insert a word of compromise, my mom was there. Because she was doing what moms do – finding any means possible to pull back together the ones that she loves the most. She wasn’t going to let the debate get in between how our family cared for each other. (To give us a little credit, I’m pretty sure my brother and I wouldn’t let differing opinions get between us either, but it was good to have mom there to reel us in when needed).

When I think about that conversation and the rest of the vacation, I think about what our country is going through right now. I will be honest. I have a very strong view of who I want to win this election. I have a very strong view of who I want to be a role model for my daughters. I have a very strong view of who I think will be the best person to lead our country in affairs both domestic and international. It is a no-brainer for me. And I get feisty whenever the subject of the election comes up because I believe whole heartedly in one candidate and against another candidate.

Here’s the thing, though. I have people who I love dearly who do not think the way that I do. And all of those people will be in one house on Thanksgiving day. Yep, we’re having both my mom’s and dad’s side of the family coming to mom’s house. And those people have views on both of the extremes and the somewhere in between when it comes to politics.

This should be fun… Who’s idea was this anyway? That’s right. Mom’s. She loves to be surround by her family. As most moms do.

For the record, I’m really hoping that nothing political will come up on Thanksgiving day, and I can’t foresee anyone bringing it up purposely, but stranger things have happened and promises to not bring up controversial subjects have been broken in less than twelve hours before, so this I will not count on.

What I can count on is that my mom will be there to reign us all in if need be. I have a wonderful image of my vertically challenged mother shaking a wooden spoon and letting everyone know in no uncertain terms that we will have a lovely family dinner and enjoy each other’s presence whether we like it or not, gosh darn it! (She can get pretty feisty, too, and people know not to mess with her when she changes her tone of voice and starts gesticulating wildly – especially when wielding mash potato crusted spoons).

This is what I’m hoping for America. A mom with a kind heart and a wooden spoon to call us to order. I love this country. And whoever wins the election, we have to come to the table with everyone else, even the ones we vehemently disagree with, and find some sort of compromise. This will be a hard one for me – especially if my candidate doesn’t win. There’s a lot of emotion flowing throughout the country. I’m hoping that somewhere, sometime, somehow, there will be a mom that forces us to get along again.

Clearly this can’t be just one person. Like the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, I think it is going to take an army of moms to bring us together. So here is my plea to my fellow moms out there: Let’s be better than what this election has shown us to be. Let’s bring everyone back to the table so we can start talking again. Let’s think of issues that we can at least agree are things we care about, like protecting our children and giving them a world where they can live a healthy and happy life. Now I am not naive enough to think that those topics won’t bring dissension, but let’s at least start with topics that we can agree we want similar outcomes if not similar paths. We want our kids to have and be better than us, and to get along while doing so.

So moms, let’s join together and form an army of women who love and care about each other and their families. Let’s pick up the pieces (and maybe a wooden spoon) and sit at the table together to bring our country back together again. If we don’t do it, who will?