Many felt a sense of frustration and resignation this Thursday as a debt deal was passed that simultaneously ended the government shutdown and raised the debt ceiling with no significant change to ObamaCare. Others felt that sanity had finally returned to our country, as certain government functions were restored to “fully functioning” (as if).

However, the most reassuring story to come out of the government reopening was black and white. Yes, that’s right. the National Zoo Panda Cam is back online. It is indisputable that the most harrowing part of this shutdown has been the national fear and anxiety over the fate of our furry friends. Future historians will seek to gauge the psychological damage that was done by those 16 days of when blindness gripped our nation and the Pandas could not be seen. We have been beaten. We have been knocked down. One can only hope that our nation will begin to heal as we gather around our panda cams and breathe deeply.