It's been an emotionally taxing week. I know that many are in mourning and I feel a part of the collective grief. I admired Queen Elizabeth for her service and dedication.
Additionally, here in the United States, September 11 is always a day of remembrance as we think of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. now 21 years ago. In April, I visited the newly built Freedom Tower which overlooks the World Trade Center memorial and today just like in that moment those first images of planes hitting the second tower - the moment I think all Americans realized this wasn't a freak accident - comes washing back over me.
And, finally, September is the month of my mother's birth - and all four of her sisters. Only two of them remain now and as my mom will celebrate her second heavenly birthday this year, I'm finding September's energy to be tinged with a bit of grief.
And, so, on this "it rained so hard they cancelled all the kid's baseball games" Sunday, I'm simply focusing on my creative energy and some fun family time.
Creative Launch
I have loads of ideas for online courses and content I want to build. I have a tendency to get caught up in planning rather than doing so I decided to take action and just build the landing page and pre-launch information for my "Facts of Life Book" course and community. It will officially launch in January of 2023 but pre-sales are open now at the lowest price they will ever be. The course will feature loads of tutorials, templates, and how-tos. The community will feature at least four quarterly challenges and regular coworking sessions where you can focus on building and compiling your Facts of Life Book. (If you want to read more about the series that this course and community are based on - you can check out the in progress series here on Hive - the next article in the series will go live tomorrow!)
A Tired Dog is a Good Dog
My brother went camping this weekend and since I spent the weekend at my dad's house, we had my dog Kona and my brother's dog Stevie. Kona is the one sitting.
I took Stevie home today. He is a lovable lug but he gets himself into some of the weirdest predicaments - including this one where he somehow jumped from the front seat of my car (where he as seat belted in via his harness) to Kona's car seat in the back of my car.
Kona slept so hard he snored all the way home from my dad's and he's been snoring here on the couch curled up next to me nearly the entire time since we got home.
Therapy Dog in Training
Speaking of dogs, Kona and I actually started our day "working". Kona is a therapy dog trainee and I take every opportunity I can to take him to new places. A couple of friends from my old Sunday School class at my dad's church (I no longer live there but used to) have urged me to bring Kona in to Sunday School. I finally did today and he did great. Here he is curled at my feet during part of the class.
Reading Time, Music Time and Baby Snuggles
I ended my time near my dad's visiting with my niece and her two sons - including five week old Gene. Three year old Clifton is an exceptional big brother. He and I made some music together on his daddy's wooden marimba and we read a LOT of books.
Me with my newest great nephew. Photo by my sister, used with permission.
Newsletter
I put issue number 31 of my newsletter out into the universe just before posting this. If you'd like to sign up and get more of my writing directly in your inbox, feel free to join my lively little community at https://iwannabemewhenigrowup.substack.com/. It gets delivered every Monday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a sublime Sunday as well.