Name Change

Issue 14 is in between.

Jan 11, 2022

Welcome, beautiful people.

Last week, we named the baby. This week, the baby goes nameless again.

🥁… Reverse drum roll,

~~The Good Word~~ is out! It didn’t last a day. Why? Because it leans biblical and I’m not biblical. Back to the drawing board.

There’s no rush, beauty takes time. But I do have this feeling that I’m wasting your time with a weekly letter without a name. Heads-up, this week is particularly random.

It could be worse. I’m just glad you’re here.

And, I miss my mom. 🥲

Meh

Firstly, I’ve found the start of 2022 a bit hard. Am I alone? When I feel this way, I run through possibilities until a reason appears. Some of what I find:

I haven’t been drinking enough water. Yes, this depresses me. Think of a plant that’s not been watered. A bit droopy, no? Drink up!
Somethings nagging at me in the background. When did I start feeling this way? What might have triggered it? Was it something I said? They said? Am I worried about the kids? I know I’ve found something when I get a thump in my stomach. This is followed by sweet relief, “Ah, yes, that’s it!”
Whatever the cause, I make a small change now! A walk, now. Meditate, now. Write, now. Clean, now. The “now” is important. I do something small, immediately. And, often.
Hormones. This is always a possibility, though rarely my go-to reason.
I miss my mom. This just is.

Sometimes it’s a combination of yuckies that has me feeling yucky.

It’s fine to feel this way and simply let it be. No digging is necessary.

Though, in my years of managing myself, I notice there’s always a reason. And, I love finding it.

Goodbye, Hello

I’ve wanted to be a person who reflects on her past year as she ushers in a new year.

I hadn’t found anything that resonated until this template landed in my inbox. I completed the exercise in two parts. The 2021 reflection flowed! The forward-thinking 2022 bit was not easy. Each took about 45 minutes

Give it her a try.

Handy

When you cut your finger and no bandaid or other solution works, try a finger condom. These are great to have on-hand (hehe). First, add a bandaid, then a projector. Chefs swear by them, and so do I. 👍 You are most welcome!

TP

There’s no musician I’ve seen more in concert than Tom Petty. Over ten times. I have yet to see the documentary Runnin’ Down a Dream (2008), but the trailer got me pumped to hunt it down. Enjoy.

RIP Mr. P. 💔

Roam-Meow

My kitty, Romeo, went missing in March of 2021. This was the week my mom went into hospice. It was not a good week.

These went up, everywhere. My friends Tung and John were amazing!

He was found six days later by a mother and daughter outside Nordstrom at the Corte Madera mall. If you don’t know where that is, just imagine your cat ended up at the next town over’s mall—separated by a freeway.

It was clunky but surprisingly only weighed 1oz.

The experience was traumatic for all of us. I strapped a GPS unit to his collar for six months and watched his every move.

This is a snapshot of one day. He never went too far, but often traveled 2.5-3 miles in neighborhood crisscrosses like this. Each dot has a timestamp. Crazy, no?

A snapshot of a day-in-the-life of Romeo.

He doesn’t wear his collar anymore. I watched him long enough to know that his trip to Nordstrom was a freak incident.

It was during this debacle when I met Romeo’s Other Mother, Michelle, the elderly neighbor I text with daily. I posted on Nextdoor about his disappearance and by golly, she was game to chat.

She referred to his GPS unit as his “lunchbox.” “Romeo’s not wearing his lunchbox today. Did it fall off?” she’d text. That made me laugh.