No Updates This Week

Some years, I do a end-of-the-year wrap-up of some sort; some years, I don't. When I started typing this, I hadn't planned on doing one and just mentioning that I'm going to take the week off from blogging to relax. But it seems like I should say what I'm relaxing from.

At my day job, I run a weekly meeting for our team and one of the elements of the meeting is that we go around and share one work-related win and one work-related challenge we had for the week. The idea is to celebrate indviduals' wins that might not otherwise get noticed, and to mention the challenges in case anyone might be able to offer a solution or help in some way. The last meeting we had, I changed it up a bit and asked everyone to share a personal win and challenge to try to keep it a little lighter. I didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortably obligated to say anything deeply personal so I gave the examples of having a bad hair day as a challenge and having your name spelled correctly on your Starbucks' coffee order as a win. I tried to make it clear that superficial stuff was totally okay.

And while there was some of that, most people instead elected to share something deeper. Problems tied to having to sell their house, challenges dealing with an adult sister who's going through a divorce and is staying with them, a variety of health issues, fighting for legal recognition from the government that Iran was indeed behind a rocket blast that blew a commercial airliner out of the sky killing her husband... there were some deeply personal -- and really difficult -- things people are working through. I'm happy they all felt they were in a safe space and comfortable enough to share some intimate details like that, but it speaks to something I've been trying to hit them with pretty regularly: that shit is really, really hard right now. We frequently go about our days acting like things are generally okay. But they very much aren't.

My 2020 wrap-up post is largely still valid. Things aren't too bad for me personally, but I know a lot of people who are having some really rough times right now. Some financially, some emotionally, some health related, some job related... I know I'm sitting atop a boatload of priveledge, so I'm trying to help others when/where I can but that can be a bit draining too. So I'm taking a little time right now to relax and make sure I have the energy and resources to continue helping the people I can.

I hope things are going decently for you. I hope you're able to face whatever challenges you're dealing with. I hope 2023 is better for you than 2022 was. I think wishing people a happy new year is still setting the bar too high, so I wish for you instead that you have the best year you can given whatever specific circumstances you're stuck with. Please be honest with your challenges and don't be hesitant to ask for help; things have been in the shithole for several years at this point and everyone can use every bit of help they can get. There is no shame in recognizing that. Do the best you can when you can with what you have. This isn't fine, but it's what we have to deal with.

I'll resume regular posting in January.

Related Items