Coming Home...To Myself

Also please come admire my new office.

Hello friends,

It’s been a busy week and unseasonably warm in central Ohio, so it’s tricking me into thinking spring and warmth are around the corner, here to stay. Daylight Savings Time has me feeling perpetually tired. I lost my voice last Friday and it’s still coming back (which is SO fun when your occupation literally involves talking to people all day)¹.

Maybe it’s just the couple days of 60s and sun that had me in a good mood, but I’ve been feeling hopeful and sort of excited lately. For what? Not exactly sure, but I’m leaning into the rhythms of the earth: thinking about planting a vegetable garden, starting to notice the sounds of the birds singing more often [some of you are great bird readers! I am not but I admire your skill!], trying to take the kids outside whenever feasible.

I also have been feeling like I’m on some kind of spiritual growth adventure lately. I spent a lot of my 20s hanging out with people probably fifty years older than me, steeping myself in both ancient (e.g., monastic) and New Age spiritual traditions (I’m…eclectic, I guess). Now, a decade later, it feels like I’m returning to those spaces. I had a wonderful visit with a friend to get introduced to her spiritual group and it has my brain working in all kinds of ways now. It’s still in the digesting stages, but I hope to have something to share along these new spirituality lines, sometime soon-ish.

I’m also wondering how to best shape this newsletter (which, I will add, is co-created with you all and the comments, presence, and input your provide!) so that it’s something that doesn’t just focus on the pains of the past, but helps us live lives that feel fuller, more whole, more hopeful, and more loving. Do I sound totally woo-woo right now? Yes, kind of? Pardon the unpolished nature of my thoughts (I’m writing this on what *feels like* the one hour I had free this week). I’m not sure if there’s a precise question related to the shape of this newsletter, but I do invite input if you’re feeling an inner pull towards certain topics and ideas!

Okay and before I sign off, I must share with you pictures of my new office. I moved office spaces because my old space was needed back by my landlord, but it turns out this has been the highlight of my last couple weeks. My new space is small, cozy, and has WINDOWS and I cannot even tell you how much I’ve missed seeing daylight all day, and what an enormous difference the presence of natural light has made on my mood. Like, I cannot underscore that enough. I love my new space.

Like… I get excited to go to work? And I actually wrote this post IN my office, which never happened in my old space.

Have you ever had something as simple as a location move that changed something so drastically for you? Three cheers for appreciating the impact of our environment (for good or for ill — it matters!).

Okay and one more thing — just before scheduling send on this thing, my area just went through a severe tornado watch. Like, “Extraordinary hazards to safety” level of danger. My town is okay but a couple of towns just north of us were hit and there’s apparently a fair amount of wreckage, trapped folks, etc. If you’re the praying / meditating / good energy type, please send some towards the towns near Indian Lake, Ohio 😢💔

1. This footnote is not about laryngitis. It’s here to acknowledge that I fully realize I use an ABSURD amount of parentheses and this one was only the first; sorry not sorry? I literally don’t think I know how to communicate without them. Is this a neurodivergence thing? What else explains the apparent need to overexplain everything? Please advise,