In my two and a half years as a columnist at the Baltimore Banner, I have written increasingly about the intersection of race and gender, from parenting to politics. But recently, you may have noticed that my topics have been less controversial and more congenial.

I’ve interviewed the “Golden Bachelorette,” considered learning to can tomatoes and written about bad Halloween candy. The closest I’ve gotten to politics in the last three weeks is remembrances of my senatorial candidate cousin teaching me how to dance.

I haven’t run out of things to say about serious topics — quite the opposite. As a columnist and jumping-in-with-both-feet kind of gal, I can write competently and compelling about pretty much anything. And being a Black woman and Baltimore native gives me a unique perspective from which to discuss this city and this world. I don’t usually shy away from hard things, as Glennon Doyle might say. But sometimes, focusing on the difficult stuff, while increasingly necessary, is extremely emotionally draining.

It’s important for me to talk about race and gender — topics that make some people uncomfortable, especially when the words are flowing from my specific keyboard. Having this platform is a privilege that I don’t take lightly, but it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole of angry words and bleakness from which it’s hard to climb out.

I am Black and female 24/7, and the passionate emotions that inspire these columns are authentic and sometimes painful. I can’t be reactionary 24/7. No human can, which is where the canned tomatoes and reality TV show columns come in.

Even so, there are times when you have to stick your head up out of the hole you’re hiding in. Tuesday marks what has rightly been called the most consequential and crucial election of my lifetime. I am afraid that no matter what happens, our country is in for a turbulent period and all I’m going to be writing about is seriousness and turmoil.

The method to my madness, in the face of potential tragedy, is editorial self-care in the form of being judicious about what I write about and when. Trust me, I would always love to be in a headspace that justified writing about fall boots and how much I enjoy the animated dog family on “Bluey.” And I know at some point we are going to need some levity, but I just want to make sure I’m able to write about those things when it feels appropriate.

I’ve been here before. In September 2001, immediately following the devastating terrorist attacks on the United States, fun topics seemed disrespectful and inappropriate. I remember writing Jan Tuckwood, then the features editor at the Palm Beach Post who I’d met at a conference and would go on to work for, asking, “When will it be OK to be funny?

“You’ll know,” she said. “You will know when they need it. And when you need it.”

I’ve never forgotten that advice, so here’s what I’m going to do: I will meet the moment with an appropriate response. If something inescapable happens that I believe I can address in an eloquent way unique to me, I will. But sometimes, if I see that other capable writers are commenting on those topics and it feels like a literal weight on my chest to have to do the same, I won’t. I will instead inform you about how my cat’s weight-loss journey is shaping up.

I am also preparing by keeping my mind and spirit right. Taking long walks. Watching “Love Is Blind” and silly shows that have nothing to do with my life. I’m also drastically editing my social media intake. The biggest decision has been to deactivate from X because under new leadership it’s become a cesspool of abuse with no protections or competent moderation, and I can no longer support participation in a harmful place. It is what it is.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in this election, though I fear it’s going to be a hard couple of months for the country. Whatever happens, I’m going to be here trying to get us through it with my words. Sometimes they will be about injustice. And sometimes, they will be about weird celebrity encounters and my Grandma’s macaroni and cheese recipe.

Hopefully, it’ll be what we all need.