I had hoped for a slow return to the busyness outside our Christmas, but I knew that hope was rather unrealistic. Our slow days ended quickly with our children auditioning for three different shows – two ballets and one musical, a return to homeschooling – a senior, a junior, and a freshman, a return to dance classes – I have lost count, but there’s something every day, and the start of our state’s legislative session (more on that later), and back to work with the part-time sewing that I do.
I realized over the Christmas break that I need to take hold of any moments of quiet I can find, so I’ve been trying to make that a priority.
Sitting by the wood stove, enjoying the silver light just before the sun comes up, reading, painting, savoring.
This isn’t extended time, just small pieces of taking a breath and embracing the moment, the quiet, the peace. Sometimes, most times, I only have a few minutes, but I’m savoring those minutes instead of filling them with more.
I’m trying to find the balance between work and calm, which is difficult when so much of my days are filled with work – homeschooling, driving, actual work, cooking, cleaning, tending, and protecting my state.
Yes, protecting my state. You may remember from a post back in 2023 that a high voltage transmission line was planned to run through our property. That bid was canceled, but since then – for 2 1/2 years now – I’ve been involved with energy policy, founded a non-profit, have testified multiple times on multiple bills, have met with leaders in energy in our state, have met with property owners, coordinated meetings, and have written articles to keep people informed. It’s … a lot.
Earlier this week another bill has been proposed that would grant new eminent domain rights to a whole new Authority. I know, this is boring. But we’re not the only ones facing this attack on rural life or this forced transfer of property. This is happening all over the country. If you’d like to learn more about what I’m doing specifically, I have a substack where I (as often as possible) write to keep people informed about current legislature and development projects. You can read about the latest developments here. Subscribe if you’d like to stay up to date.
I have been painting again. I’ll share that in a separate post soon. It’s much more fun to talk about than energy policy 😉