April 11, 2026
Something I thought about:
- The past year has been rough for so many people that I care about, and of course the world is what is right now. This has been a week of listening and processing. I’m continuing to limit my social media time (even set screen time limits to stay mindful of my use), and I’ve been head down trying to move various initiatives forward. The spreadsheets are out of control, but in a good way. I need to take more breaks and get more rest because I’ve been dealing with difficult things through productivity, and that only goes so far. I’m feeling pretty worn down today. The warmer weather has been lovely, though. I’ve taken some long walks, and soccer season has started up again, so I’m back to spending hours outside. I have plants that need to be repotted and some garden cleanup to do, which is technically still work and “productive,” but it’s slow and meditative and not screen-based. More nature; less time on devices.
Something I did:
- We had family Easter, which was fun – nice to get my kiddo and a young cousin together for some cousin time.
- I was cranky about the snow but still took photos of it.
- I had a lot of meetings. My kid’s fifth grade teacher introduced me to the concept of “Maycember” — this was at the end of our first year back in the US, and I was stunned by the number of end-of-year activities and events. Right now, two of my four committees are school-related, which means April is when we plan, and Maycember is when we execute those plans.
- And then with the other two committees: one is trying to launch something big on May 1st, and the other has a major event in June that we’re planning now. So. Spreadsheets. And many, many text messages.
- I conducted some interviews for a piece that I’m writing.
- I managed to watch some Champions League games, although they weren’t all that relaxing because my teams had a rough week, too!
Something I read:
- More Poetry magazine catch up
- I’m partway through the MG novel Verity Vox and the Cure of Foxfire which feels like it took Kiki’s Delivery Service as a starting point and then did its own thing. I needed something that’s more of a fairy tale this week.
