I’m still here.

How are you? I hope you’re feeling supported and loved through the shit-show roller coaster that is our current United States. 

If you’re reading this: thank you! How nice that you cared enough to come find me all the way here. 

I’m doing what I can to manage my well-being and juggle what is currently a fairly busy life. That's one of the reasons why I chose to get off of Facebook and Instagram. I'm under no pretense that stopping my use of these things is going to dramatically stop selfish billionaires from exploiting the masses (including me in alternate ways), but it felt like one thing I could do to protect myself from what is sure to become a bigger source of divisive influence and simply to be more intentional about what I consume. 

As I've been away from meta for the last week or so, its absence has actually shown up a lot like an addiction for me. I find myself randomly looking for the apps during idle times, or when I pick up my phone for a different reason altogether. I find myself having little moments of FOMO as if I'm missing out on what everyone else I know is doing---I miss receiving memes from friends as a small token of connection. I miss feeling like people will know what's happening in my life. Silly things like knowing what's going on in the Amherst mom group? It's all kind of wild, actually. 

But all of this comes at a cost. It's a bit like how once I got GPS in my car I stopped paying attention and depended on it more to get me places. That's what social media has become for many of us---it's an artificial source of connection and we've started to use it as a crutch in place of actually getting to know people in less surface level ways. 

I am challenging myself when I wish I could send my friend a meme on instagram to text that person. To make plans to actually see them? To organize more gatherings with my friends and family this year. To write a blog for the people who are interested in staying informed about my family's life and to not just go on apps to mindlessly consume content unless I've handled my shit in the real world first. 

I want to support real life again. I want to support local businesses so that we have a small business community instead of a growing number of warehouses.

I want to get to know people in my neighborhood and in my town again instead of liking what random influencers curate.

I want to inform my opinions of how the world operates based on lived experience and not based on the sensationalism that has waged class wars in order to distract us from the veiled intentions of callous billionaires. 

You can join me, if you'd like to! 

I'll end this post with an overview of what's happening now in our lives: 

This is Alma's current favorite song. 

This is Henry's current favorite song. 

I've been listening to Laufey a lot especially when it's snowy and I'm running errands. I've also been blasting the new Bad Bunny album. 

I just started reading the book, "I Hope This Finds You Well," by Natalie Sue.

I've been taking voice lessons since last summer with the most wonderful teacher who feels like my Fairy Godmother (Hi, Valerie!) and I just graduated to the next Panofka vocalises book. Want to try warming up? Here's the first one! Sometimes I sing these on my way to school in the morning to get my voice warmed up for reading and talking all day. 

Henry and I are doing a play together! (his first play!): Seussical the Musical. 

I am one of the Bird Girls (I'll be the orange bird) and he is one of the Blue Who and a military cadet. This is part of our annual town play tradition where there has been an intergenerational play for more than 60 years. I'm so excited to share the stage with Hen and to show him the unique bonding feeling of being in a theater production. 

Matt and I just came back from our first long weekend away from the kids. We celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary at the loveliest resort. While there, we did a thermal circuit where we alternated between a sauna, cold plunge, hot tub, and rest and I managed to go all the way in the cold plunge (eventually) which made me so proud of myself. 

Matt and I have also started walking on an incline while wearing weighted vests because we're the kind of people who discuss our bone density. Have you heard about this fitness trend?

I just paid to renew my community garden plot (a quick walk from my house) so you know that soon I'm going to be scheming garden plans and looking at seeds. 

I have ingredients to make cinnamon buns ready to go for when no one in the house is sick (sometime this week? Fingers crossed). 

Those are my updates this week. I'll leave you with a question you can answer in the comments: 

What glimmers are carrying you through right now? What are the little rituals, moments of peace, sources of light that are bringing you joy right now? Please share. I'd love to see them. 

Much Love,

Josefine