February 26, 2026

It's been two weeks! This is proof of life.

In all seriousness, it's been a couple of weeks of disruption – February break, closing out a large number of projects, and a blizzard. The kid was at home for all of it. Yesterday was a half day at school, and I spent most of those school hours attempting to deal with email. Today is my first, full day with uninterrupted stretches of time. The kid is great, and I like that we can share space and see each other and check in during the day. The lack of routine isn't great for focused work, though. Even if I'm not being interrupted directly, there are video games and conversations in the background – a constant buzz of energy that's delightful but not conducive to holding onto thought.

Today I'm trying to get into some deeper planning and reflection. The snow will be around for a while, but it is no longer a crisis (prepping, digging out, etc.). There's a big event coming up, which is taking up a lot of time and brain space – plus a new initiative I mentioned earlier. All of these things are good, and now it's a matter of creating balance.

A few things that have centered me:

Reading – I've been reading several different books at once, and it's a mix of quick genre books, a memoir that I'm lingering over, and two slow reads. I made my own reading schedules for the slow reads!
Fountain pens – this is silly, but I disassembled and thoroughly cleaned out my pens, which was weirdly meditative. I like to disassemble things. It's also pleasant to have hands covered in ink.
Soccer – we've been watching a lot, and there have been some utterly bananas games recently.
Family watch nights – we've discussed watching things together more regularly, and we recently watched Zootopia 2 and the Olympics skating exhibition gala, which were fun, family nights.

I want to pick up some embroidery and knitting projects again. I haven't done nearly enough of this recently, and it's another good way to stay offline and present. I also have a writing project that I'm easing into, and this newsletter captured some of my ambivalence about morning pages. Sometimes they feel useful and other times unproductive, and I'm trying to figure out what works for me now.