Starting Over Well

“Here we go...”

Oh boy.

It’s been over a year since my last post. I had such altruistic plans of posting something once a week and being consistent with it and then everything just sort of crashed. Surgery, health scares, illness, family drama, the never ending battle of trying to find “work/life balance” (which is a phrase a cannot stand), the holidays, oh and not to mention all of that BEFORE the pandemic that stopped the world and everyone in it in its tracks. Trying to figure out virtual learning, keeping my family and especially my grandmother safe. Making homemade masks for our family, friends, and local healthcare workers. Having a full blown reckoning with the racial trauma in this country, doing the work to confront my own privilege and complicity. Watching Covid wreak havoc not just on people’s health but their financial stability, food security, mental health. The tremendous job loss, not just business closures but full blown industries coming to a standstill. All of it culminating in the most consequential election of our lifetime (but really this time) - heightening the already monstrous partisan divide in our country. Being overwhelmed by the hate, the vitriol, the lack of care and concern for our neighbors, the lack of grace and mercy. Global warming is still a clear and present danger and so in additional to all of the above some of you have maybe even been battling ever stronger wildfires and hurricanes. In my region we’ve battled two hurricanes back to back. And yet….

I am still here. YOU are still here. And I am just so proud of us for making this far.

Despite moments or even days or weeks or months of personal, local, national, and global despair, we’ve managed to hang on. I am positive I can’t be the only one struggling through the existential crisis of what next? Where do we go from here? Am I doing enough? Am I checking in on those around me enough? Am I giving enough to my family? My husband, my kids? Will we be okay? Am I volunteering enough? Giving enough? Learning enough? Advocating enough?

Please note I have exactly zero of the answers. I can only pray that we’re all foolish enough to believe we change the world. I’m working through my next steps one day, one hour, one minute at a time. I’m foolishly hopeful I can do something interesting or valuable with this blog. I hope you’ll stick around.

Welcome back.