![Upstate New York woman Margot Gerster said: ‘I got to hug her and talk to her and tell her that one of my most proudest moments as a mother was taking [my daughter]with me to vote for her.’](https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/MGFDVFMH2NDPUYFORVHLBOOEGI.jpg?auth=35f455c0081032631de858e11bad95e0aab135b88f435767378bcbdd5249e65d&smart=true&width=1024&height=575)
An upstate New York woman, hoping to take her mind off of the US election results with a hike through the woods of Westchester County, bumped into another woman on Thursday with a presumably similar notion: Hillary Clinton.
Margot Gerster of White Plains wrote on Facebook that after "feeling so heartbroken since yesterday's election", she hoped to relax by taking her young daughter and her dog hiking on Thursday.
“I decided to take them to one of favourite places in Chappaqua,” Gerster wrote, the Westchester hamlet that the Clintons call home.
“We were the only ones there and it was so beautiful and relaxing.”
As Gerster was ending her hike, however, she ran into an unexpected couple on the trail: the former secretary of state and her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
“I heard a bit of rustling coming towards me and as I stepped into the clearing there she was, Hillary Clinton and Bill with their dogs doing exactly the same thing as I was,” Gerster wrote.
“I got to hug her and talk to her and tell her that one of my most proudest moments as a mother was taking [my daughter]with me to vote for her.”
Clinton was grateful for Gerster’s words, offering pleasantries, a hug and even a photo taken by the former president.
“She hugged me and thanked me and we exchanged some sweet pleasantries and then I let them continue their walk,” Gerster wrote.
“Now, I’m not one for signs but I think I’ll definitely take this one. So proud.”
The photo represents Clinton’s first appearance since her concession speech on Wednesday, during which she declared:
“To all the little girls who are watching this: never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.”
Gerster ended her post, which has been shared nearly 3,000 times, with a series of hashtags expressing support for the former presidential candidate: “#iamstillwithher #lovetrumpshate #keepfighting #lightfollowsdarkness.”
The photo has received thousands of comments, most expressing good wishes for the former candidate.
“I wish I could give her a hug and thank her personally,” wrote one supporter. “And apologize for the rest of our country.”
Guardian