Welcome friends, foes, those in the middle. How are we all doing? Let me tell you, my surface game is going great. But underneath, deep in my gooey core, I’m terrified. Stone cold frightened. That’s partly why I’m here. Therapy helps, but maybe yelling into the void will ease the worry. And hey, yelling into the void is cheaper than therapy.
There are lots of reasons I’ve got a great poker face. I work in a public-facing job that requires me to be bubbly, informative, and knowledgeable. While my profession is increasingly threatened by extremist ideology, I’ve learned to walk a fine line between informing people and keeping people happy. Wearing the “It’s ok, everything’s ok” mask all the time in public is exhausting. When I finally make it home, I switch to spouse and parent mode until bed. I dream about our debt, our home repairs, our world. It’s exhausting.
See a theme yet? Well, here’s the menu part. Food keeps me sane. Not just cooking but planning a monthly menu for my family. And our family has unique dietary requirements that make planning even more difficult. My spouse recently said I should share how I plan our monthly meals – share my spreadsheets, fast and cheap pantry meals, and my planning process. Do you love data? Does opening a new spreadsheet bring you joy? Then let’s be friends.
I’m also a writer. I create academic scholarship as part of my job, but I do love to spin a yarn. Have you heard of Story Cubes? My kid and I love them. We read a book before bed and then roll the cubes to create a story. I also write to help me process aspects of my job. I used to write these things and delete them afterward. My spouse suggested I keep them and share. So, I guess you know who to blame.
I can’t promise I’ll update regularly. In fact, I’m not promising much of anything. I do promise to be authentically me, share what helps me, and hope I can bring you some small measure of joy. The world needs it. I hope I can help.
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