I haven't really felt the desire or found the time to post here in ages. I used to feel so compelled to write here so I could share pictures and happenings with my extended family who were scattered all over the place plus I wanted to keep a family record. I just went back over some old entries and it was so fun to see photos and remember the special occasions and every-day life involved in my kids' growing-up years. I'm so glad I somehow scraped together the time to record all that. Then Instagram came along and it was easy to jump over there to record and share plus I was really busy working on Power of Moms and Power of Families posts and retreats. Plus it was easier and felt right to just share the happy fun stuff on Instagram rather than trying to figure out how to share on a deeper level here on the blog while respecting my kids' privacy as they got older.
This this blog got more completely shoved to the back burner once I started working at United Way of Northern Utah about 5 years ago. I had felt a real draw towards working with people face-to-face and focusing on helping more directly in my own community. I started off running an AmeriCorps tutoring/mentoring program to support struggling students across the state of Utah then moved on to support all the UWNU programs for children and families which included the tutoring/mentoring program, a "Welcome Baby" program providing home visits for families with children age 0-3, and a playgroup program that helps parents build connections with each other and helps kids prepare for kindergarten. I cared deeply about my work at United Way and thought I could do it all but ultimately realized that I was never going to find time to prioritize Power of Families with all the demands of my United Way work and that I really had to choose between United Way and Power of Families. My heart said Power of Families was the right way to go.
So here I am at my new work station - a little desk in Silas's old room - a lovely room with windows on three sides looking out at beautiful snowy mountains.
Over the past couple weeks, I've been working to revive Power of Families (update old posts, get my emailed newsletters going again, polishing up some programs that got a little dated, etc). Today I'm working on a slide deck for the Momivate Conference where I'll be presenting about Family Systems on Saturday in Provo. I feel like it was really providential that I was able to step right into helping out with this conference just as my United Way work wrapped up.
I'm absolutely loving having more control over my schedule and generally doing things at my own pace. I'm still helping out with some things at United Way (doing Welcome Baby visits as a volunteer, helping on various advisory boards, helping with a "Read Across America" event later this week...) but it is SO NICE not to be locked into all the meetings and the inevitable bureaucracy that is part of any job. It was really nice to have the extra income from my salary to allow for more fun "extras" in our lives but Jared has a great job that pays well and I'm so grateful that I get a little time to breathe and plan and think and enjoy without the immediate need to make money. I do hope I can get to where Power of Families can cover its own costs and even make some decent money down the road a ways. But I'm not in a huge hurry for once in my life.
I'm realizing that I've been way too worried about cramming every possible second of my life with work, learning, and activities that are "virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy," I've been able to accomplish a lot, learn a lot, help a lot of people, and gain a sense of accomplishment and meaning through all my do-gooding. I've consistently chosen hard paths and lofty ambitions with a cheerful can-do attitude and that has served me and others around me well in many ways. But by not routinely recognizing my boundaries or prioritizing relaxation and fun, I've brought a lot more stress and anxiety into my brain and heart and my family life than was positive and healthy.
So now I'm moving into a new chapter of my life where balance, joy, fun, creativity, and rest are going to be prioritized alongside helping others, learning, and making a difference. We'll see how it goes! And I'll share bits of my journey here.
I'm also going to be updating the recipes I have on here. Now that my kids are grown up and out on their own, they often ask for recipes for family favorite and it's great to be able to refer them to this blog so they can find a tried-and-true recipe anytime, anywhere. But some of our favorite recipes aren't on here so I'm going to start adding recipes again. The flavors of home can bind hearts across space and time plus I love that my kids all enjoy cooking and eating healthily.
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