My adventure this week is that I started a new job! Still in nonprofit fundraising, but grant writing for a new org. So far I’ve been doing mostly onboarding things - reading about the programs, meeting people I’ll be working with, etc. I’ve had a lot of job transitions in the last three years, so I hope to stay out for awhile.
My oldest also moved back into her college dorms, so that changes the energy at home.
Whew! New jobs can be stressful, even when it’s good stress. Here’s hoping this one is the perfect fit and that you love it.🥂And I feel ya on that energy change. All the grown kids left and I only had a little time until the grandkids arrived. Now things seem so...quiet and calm.
Jan 7, 2023·edited Jan 7, 2023Liked by Holly Rabalais
I spent the week getting back into a normal rhythm post-holidays. My kids went back to school, and after a couple of back-to-back 4-day weekends, I went back to a full work week.
Work-wise, there was some wild weather in the Dakotas and Minnesota that affected our station's operation. That's obviously terrible for travelers, but is also honestly when my job is the most fun.
Dunno if I'd call it an adventure, but we received some new (to us) deicing trucks this year, and I finally got to drive one Thursday. It'll take a bit for me to get used to them-we've had out current ones quite a long time- but it'll happen.
I have Fridays off and spent yesterday busy doing...absolutely nothing. Hung out with my dog, listened to some records, and caught up on newsletters. It was glorious. I need to make a habit of it.
My job (IT security analyst) is also most fun when there’s chaos, so I get it! But then I’m ready for the excitement to wane.
My weekends are normally my time off at the day job, but we have an unusually busy schedule at our event venue this month. I think I’ll take a Friday off and call it a “Kevin Day.” I like the idea of kicking back and listening to music and reading!
What a memorable set of experiences for you and your grandchildren! How wonderful. My daughter and I saw a hawk (perched on the iron hook of one of the bird feeders) as we pulled into our driveway-so cool. After we got out of the car, my daughter yells, "Rainbow!" We both ran out into our backyard and witnessed a rainbow undulating in colors (first red, orange, yellow, and then green indigo, and violet many times over. Then, a rainbow appeared above it! My first double rainbow ever! It faded, and the undulating rainbow split into FOUR! We were awe-struck. That night was awful as my daughter received a rejection from one of the Grad schools she had applied to and wanted to attend. The email was so cold and dismissive. We both ended up in a heap of hugs and tears. She was so sad, so deeply sad and I just wanted to take it all away. You know, as a parent, there's no way to do that. I woke up around 11:00 PM feeling sick. (aches, fever, fear...horrible). Today, my daughter has shown remarkable resilience and is in the spirit of "possibility". I am nursing a non-COVID "thing". I honestly think that the stress of sadness sent my body into an absolute inflammatory response. I am hopeful that by tomorrow (with all of my homemade herbal tea) that it will pass.
Well, somehow I “replied” in the main comment thread, so let me repost here:
Your first ever double rainbow?! I’m so glad you caught it and the splitting into four. So cool!
It’s hard watching our kids hurt and be disappointed. I’m glad you could be there to comfort her, and very glad she has woken up to a new day of possibility. Now, take care of yourself and feel better soon. The world can’t do without Mary for too long!
Where I live I see double rainbows all the time. The bedroom windows and balcony overlook the area where they occur. I'm on the third floor of my condo building. It's always neat to see them.
Hi Holly! This is a wonderful, beautifully reflective post - what great adventures!
Like many we've been resetting - there's been lots going on. We took the Christmas tree down and made an unexpected plan to declutter the loft (because somehow there was suddenly no room to put the box of decorations back UP there...); at Jim's studio down the road we tried to rescue a starling that had set up home (we can't work out whether it's still in there, or whether it flew out while our backs were turned); I went for a walk yesterday on one of my favourite, very familiar local routes.... and got lost thanks to everything looking different in the woods where they've been doing some tree clearing! And, as always, I've been reading and writing and looking forward to more of the same.
Thank you, Holly, for your posts - I look forward to them every week, and they're always a terrific read.
Oooo! You have to keep us posted on the starling. You’ve just reminded me of a movie by the same name. Did the thing swoop at you?
I “decluttered” my freezers the other day after being unable to locate something for lunch AND not being able to fit those ice cream sandwiches in there. Must have room for the important things!
I was surprised to see your weekly post land a day early, but I still waited until today to savor it during some quiet time.
I'll let you know if we see it again, Holly - it was last seen retreating into one of many dark corners. It was so cold in the main part of the studio with the doors wide open that Jim and I took a break from starling watch in the much-warmer office part. We'd like to think that it made its way out then. We haven't seen it again, and it hasn't set off the alarms, so fingers crossed! I don't know the film, and no, it didn't swoop at us - it was too busy trying to hide!
Nice one re decluttering the freezers - ours needs me to defrost it...!
Thank you for not being thrown by my off-schedule post! 🤣 Thank you for savouring it!
So happy to see all these adventures you've been on!
This month is gonna be crazy for me, I'm traveling to a different city every weekend, ending the month with the Lolapalooza India concert. Super excited 😁
That sounds exciting and exhausting at the same time! I don’t even like going to concerts, but I would totally love to experience Lolapalpooza India--sounds so fun!
Yeah, not gonna lie I was freaking out about the prospect of travelling every weekend, but now that I've completed one weekend's worth of adventures, I'm ready for the next 3! 🌞
Hi Holly and all! Thanks for the invite. My daughter has been poorly with a viral infection so there’s been no adventuring here other than to the bottom of the garden to let our chickens out for the day and close them in again at night under this month’s full moon! 🌝
Oh no! I’ll say a pray for a quick recovery for her and that you don’t go stir crazy while being cooped up! Sometimes the best adventure is a quick walk outside, even it for a task, and especially by the light of the gorgeous moon. Thanks for letting us know what’s up in your neck of the woods!
Nice job prioritizing time and fun with grandkids. 🙂👍
I found my way here via Jen Zug, whose writing I've been enjoying since her old blog. My first week of 2023 was already hectic: ramping up for the first tax season and backfilling positions in a hurry. I better get some fun scheduled on my calendar before the month gets away from me!
So are you an accountant? If so--mad respect!✌🏻 I know what you mean about scheduling fun. I’ve learned that I have to schedule writing time, date nights, and some quiet time, too, or else it doesn’t happen!
Great post! Poverty Point World Heritage Site, sounds neat and I would definitely love to see it. Didn't do much adventuring though we did head to the city (Chicago) to look for spots for a new project (carry out restaurant.) Though we are both Chicago Heads, we haven't lived in the city for more than a decade, so every time we make the 40 minute trip we are revitalized. Ha!
My older son lived there for a year, and I visited a couple of times. Loved taking the architecture river tour and visiting the Museum of Modern Art! We also ate at a couple of Italian restaurants that were sublime.
Poverty Point looks like a great historic site to visit. The grandkids comments seem like they have grown up already.
My adventure is finding out yesterday that I'm going to be working 9 straight days. They are having problems hiring more people, so they need people at different times. Three days are early morning starts.
Thank you Holly! I've never worked that many days in a row in any of the jobs I have had. With this being a stressful job, I'm usually glad to have at least one day off. But I'll have to wait until this Sunday.
Happy weekend Holly! What a great adventure and wise grand-children you have! I loved it. My adventures have also been on foot this week...white-tailed deer, red-tailed hawk...some magnificent sightings. Thank you.
I love watching hawks! We had a brood (is that the correct term) of them in a live oak outside my office building when I worked at a university. I enjoyed sitting outside at lunch and listening to them.
Late to the party here, sorry, but I did enjoy reading about what's been going on in your life and making me grateful that mine isn't quite so busy. Yours seems very rewarding, though, so it's a great trade-off!
I've been settling back into the work grind. Coming back after 2 weeks off and with no one covering for me, I spent the entirety of last week just catching up to where I could get my head above water.
Thankfully, things are much better this week and getting back to normal. I've also been diligent about journaling and have made entries every day since the new year started. I'm also trying to get back into writing and, to be honest, it's a bit of a chore but one I think is worth it.
No worries, Mark--I seem to be late to ALL the parties in 2023. My workload has been nuts, so not much time for perusing Substack. Sounds like you know the feeling. I used to hate taking off work because it seemed like more work to try to catch up once I was back in the office.
So glad to hear the journaling is going well. I started a commonplace journal (recording cool quotes and passages I run across) and a daily journal Austin Kleon style. I’ve kept up with it until yesterday--got very busy! Hoping to get back in it tomorrow.
Writing always feels like a chore that’s waiting for me until I actually give myself about 15 minutes of uninterrupted typing time. Then things seem to start flowing and I don’t want to stop! Getting started is the hardest part for me.
Your first ever double rainbow?! I’m so glad you caught it and the splitting into four. So cool!
It’s hard watching our kids hurt and be disappointed. I’m glad you could be there to comfort her, and very glad she has woken up to a new day of possibility. Now, take care of yourself and feel better soon. The world can’t do without Mary for too long!
My adventure this week is that I started a new job! Still in nonprofit fundraising, but grant writing for a new org. So far I’ve been doing mostly onboarding things - reading about the programs, meeting people I’ll be working with, etc. I’ve had a lot of job transitions in the last three years, so I hope to stay out for awhile.
My oldest also moved back into her college dorms, so that changes the energy at home.
Whew! New jobs can be stressful, even when it’s good stress. Here’s hoping this one is the perfect fit and that you love it.🥂And I feel ya on that energy change. All the grown kids left and I only had a little time until the grandkids arrived. Now things seem so...quiet and calm.
*stay here for awhile.
(Writer not proofing her work is 🤦♀️)
Comments don’t count.🤣
I spent the week getting back into a normal rhythm post-holidays. My kids went back to school, and after a couple of back-to-back 4-day weekends, I went back to a full work week.
Work-wise, there was some wild weather in the Dakotas and Minnesota that affected our station's operation. That's obviously terrible for travelers, but is also honestly when my job is the most fun.
Dunno if I'd call it an adventure, but we received some new (to us) deicing trucks this year, and I finally got to drive one Thursday. It'll take a bit for me to get used to them-we've had out current ones quite a long time- but it'll happen.
I have Fridays off and spent yesterday busy doing...absolutely nothing. Hung out with my dog, listened to some records, and caught up on newsletters. It was glorious. I need to make a habit of it.
My job (IT security analyst) is also most fun when there’s chaos, so I get it! But then I’m ready for the excitement to wane.
My weekends are normally my time off at the day job, but we have an unusually busy schedule at our event venue this month. I think I’ll take a Friday off and call it a “Kevin Day.” I like the idea of kicking back and listening to music and reading!
More Kevin Days for everyone!
I hope you get a chance to do it. It was everything I’d hoped it would be & more!
Doing nothing is the best. Great habit! 🌞
What a memorable set of experiences for you and your grandchildren! How wonderful. My daughter and I saw a hawk (perched on the iron hook of one of the bird feeders) as we pulled into our driveway-so cool. After we got out of the car, my daughter yells, "Rainbow!" We both ran out into our backyard and witnessed a rainbow undulating in colors (first red, orange, yellow, and then green indigo, and violet many times over. Then, a rainbow appeared above it! My first double rainbow ever! It faded, and the undulating rainbow split into FOUR! We were awe-struck. That night was awful as my daughter received a rejection from one of the Grad schools she had applied to and wanted to attend. The email was so cold and dismissive. We both ended up in a heap of hugs and tears. She was so sad, so deeply sad and I just wanted to take it all away. You know, as a parent, there's no way to do that. I woke up around 11:00 PM feeling sick. (aches, fever, fear...horrible). Today, my daughter has shown remarkable resilience and is in the spirit of "possibility". I am nursing a non-COVID "thing". I honestly think that the stress of sadness sent my body into an absolute inflammatory response. I am hopeful that by tomorrow (with all of my homemade herbal tea) that it will pass.
Well, somehow I “replied” in the main comment thread, so let me repost here:
Your first ever double rainbow?! I’m so glad you caught it and the splitting into four. So cool!
It’s hard watching our kids hurt and be disappointed. I’m glad you could be there to comfort her, and very glad she has woken up to a new day of possibility. Now, take care of yourself and feel better soon. The world can’t do without Mary for too long!
Holly, thank you. No one has ever said to me, "The world can't do without Mary for too long." Whew, Nelly, now my eyes are rimmed with tears.
Where I live I see double rainbows all the time. The bedroom windows and balcony overlook the area where they occur. I'm on the third floor of my condo building. It's always neat to see them.
Hi Holly! This is a wonderful, beautifully reflective post - what great adventures!
Like many we've been resetting - there's been lots going on. We took the Christmas tree down and made an unexpected plan to declutter the loft (because somehow there was suddenly no room to put the box of decorations back UP there...); at Jim's studio down the road we tried to rescue a starling that had set up home (we can't work out whether it's still in there, or whether it flew out while our backs were turned); I went for a walk yesterday on one of my favourite, very familiar local routes.... and got lost thanks to everything looking different in the woods where they've been doing some tree clearing! And, as always, I've been reading and writing and looking forward to more of the same.
Thank you, Holly, for your posts - I look forward to them every week, and they're always a terrific read.
Oooo! You have to keep us posted on the starling. You’ve just reminded me of a movie by the same name. Did the thing swoop at you?
I “decluttered” my freezers the other day after being unable to locate something for lunch AND not being able to fit those ice cream sandwiches in there. Must have room for the important things!
I was surprised to see your weekly post land a day early, but I still waited until today to savor it during some quiet time.
I'll let you know if we see it again, Holly - it was last seen retreating into one of many dark corners. It was so cold in the main part of the studio with the doors wide open that Jim and I took a break from starling watch in the much-warmer office part. We'd like to think that it made its way out then. We haven't seen it again, and it hasn't set off the alarms, so fingers crossed! I don't know the film, and no, it didn't swoop at us - it was too busy trying to hide!
Nice one re decluttering the freezers - ours needs me to defrost it...!
Thank you for not being thrown by my off-schedule post! 🤣 Thank you for savouring it!
So happy to see all these adventures you've been on!
This month is gonna be crazy for me, I'm traveling to a different city every weekend, ending the month with the Lolapalooza India concert. Super excited 😁
That sounds exciting and exhausting at the same time! I don’t even like going to concerts, but I would totally love to experience Lolapalpooza India--sounds so fun!
Yeah, not gonna lie I was freaking out about the prospect of travelling every weekend, but now that I've completed one weekend's worth of adventures, I'm ready for the next 3! 🌞
Oh man; that sounds like a great month!
Hi Holly and all! Thanks for the invite. My daughter has been poorly with a viral infection so there’s been no adventuring here other than to the bottom of the garden to let our chickens out for the day and close them in again at night under this month’s full moon! 🌝
Oh no! I’ll say a pray for a quick recovery for her and that you don’t go stir crazy while being cooped up! Sometimes the best adventure is a quick walk outside, even it for a task, and especially by the light of the gorgeous moon. Thanks for letting us know what’s up in your neck of the woods!
You’re so right and I’m very grateful for a slow start ⚡️✨
Out comes the full moon,
the chickens go to rest.
Troubles will fade soon,
this month will be the best!
Always the poet! Claire, if you haven’t “met” Punit and his poetry, I definitely recommend checking out his Substack “Hello Universe!”
Thanks for your kind words Holly 🤗
Nice job prioritizing time and fun with grandkids. 🙂👍
I found my way here via Jen Zug, whose writing I've been enjoying since her old blog. My first week of 2023 was already hectic: ramping up for the first tax season and backfilling positions in a hurry. I better get some fun scheduled on my calendar before the month gets away from me!
So are you an accountant? If so--mad respect!✌🏻 I know what you mean about scheduling fun. I’ve learned that I have to schedule writing time, date nights, and some quiet time, too, or else it doesn’t happen!
Oh gosh, no. I'm on the administrative and operations side of a CPA firm. Setting aside quiet time is a great idea! I have to steal it.
Good evening Holly!
Great post! Poverty Point World Heritage Site, sounds neat and I would definitely love to see it. Didn't do much adventuring though we did head to the city (Chicago) to look for spots for a new project (carry out restaurant.) Though we are both Chicago Heads, we haven't lived in the city for more than a decade, so every time we make the 40 minute trip we are revitalized. Ha!
My older son lived there for a year, and I visited a couple of times. Loved taking the architecture river tour and visiting the Museum of Modern Art! We also ate at a couple of Italian restaurants that were sublime.
Poverty Point looks like a great historic site to visit. The grandkids comments seem like they have grown up already.
My adventure is finding out yesterday that I'm going to be working 9 straight days. They are having problems hiring more people, so they need people at different times. Three days are early morning starts.
Oh my! Nine straight days is A LOT! Wishing you extra strength to push through!
Thank you Holly! I've never worked that many days in a row in any of the jobs I have had. With this being a stressful job, I'm usually glad to have at least one day off. But I'll have to wait until this Sunday.
Gosh, Matt, that sounds like a tough schedule! Sending strength!
Thank you Rebecca! I need all the strength I can get. It's more hours, so that is good.
Happy weekend Holly! What a great adventure and wise grand-children you have! I loved it. My adventures have also been on foot this week...white-tailed deer, red-tailed hawk...some magnificent sightings. Thank you.
I love watching hawks! We had a brood (is that the correct term) of them in a live oak outside my office building when I worked at a university. I enjoyed sitting outside at lunch and listening to them.
How fun Holly! I get so excited when I see them, well any bird for that matter. :)
Late to the party here, sorry, but I did enjoy reading about what's been going on in your life and making me grateful that mine isn't quite so busy. Yours seems very rewarding, though, so it's a great trade-off!
I've been settling back into the work grind. Coming back after 2 weeks off and with no one covering for me, I spent the entirety of last week just catching up to where I could get my head above water.
Thankfully, things are much better this week and getting back to normal. I've also been diligent about journaling and have made entries every day since the new year started. I'm also trying to get back into writing and, to be honest, it's a bit of a chore but one I think is worth it.
Until next time.
No worries, Mark--I seem to be late to ALL the parties in 2023. My workload has been nuts, so not much time for perusing Substack. Sounds like you know the feeling. I used to hate taking off work because it seemed like more work to try to catch up once I was back in the office.
So glad to hear the journaling is going well. I started a commonplace journal (recording cool quotes and passages I run across) and a daily journal Austin Kleon style. I’ve kept up with it until yesterday--got very busy! Hoping to get back in it tomorrow.
Writing always feels like a chore that’s waiting for me until I actually give myself about 15 minutes of uninterrupted typing time. Then things seem to start flowing and I don’t want to stop! Getting started is the hardest part for me.
Your first ever double rainbow?! I’m so glad you caught it and the splitting into four. So cool!
It’s hard watching our kids hurt and be disappointed. I’m glad you could be there to comfort her, and very glad she has woken up to a new day of possibility. Now, take care of yourself and feel better soon. The world can’t do without Mary for too long!