Oh hey! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve showed up here.
My last post on this blog was August 13 of last year - and when I look back in my planner, only 3 days later I had an interview for a job that I would end up being offered and taking. After 7 years at the Horizon Achievement Centre working with adults with intellectual disabilities, I am now the Information Resource Specialist with the local Nova Scotia Works Employment Services Centre, only a 5 minute drive away from my home. I started that position in early September and around the same time joined the Board of Directors of ACAP Cape Breton, taking on the role of Secretary.
I also took on a Virtual Assistant client, just a few hours a month but something to try on that work, as I’ve always been curious about it.
And, I started holding monthly Climate Grief Support Circles, on zoom and in person.
Oh! And, in November I met someone and started dating them, which of course takes energy and time. Energy and time happily spent, of course! But nonetheless energy and time.
And through it all I’ve been coparenting my 3-and-a-half-year old son.
So it’s been a busy fall, haha.
Then in December the Omicron surge took off, and by the time Christmas was here I was very burnt out and tired. Not at all in the mood to set yearly goals or pick a word of the year, as I normally do.
So I gave myself grace. And space, and time.
I wrote in my journal, I mulled. While doing dishes, while doing laundry, while walking the icy snowy rainy sidewalks.
And today, I’m ready, ready to state for myself, ready to share.
I feel as though I have other goals within my relationship with my son, within my new romantic relationship, and so on, but they are personal and not something I want to share. But what I do want to share are the following:
My word this year is CLEAR. As in, get clear. Clear out. Clear energy, given and received. Clear water. And probably lots lots more I haven’t touched on yet.
AND, this year I’m aiming to:
deepen and sharpen my intuition and spiritual connection. (This feels the scariest to admit, but also like something that’s been a long time coming, and so I’m at a “fuck it” point.) To this end I’m part of Ocean Alchemy’s Intertidal Portal, and taking in Chrissy Tolley’s Intuitive Bachelor Unpacking on Instagram. (Yes, really.)
finish my hikes project (6 hikes remaining: Le Chemin du Buttereau, Corney Brook, Benjie's Lake, Aspy,Branch Pond Look-off and Freshwater Lake) (Will I write more about this whole project, to hike all 26 hikes in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park? I sure would like to. Stay tuned.)
refresh my website/brand/vision for my creative work - this has been a loooong time coming. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to look or play out, I just know that my sense of self, how I SEE myself, has shifted a fair bit in the last year or two, but also I know I have over 10 years of online writing and community building to comb through and pull ideas and inspiration from, including the Dream Big Cape Breton blog. So. We’ll see.
lift heavy things again - fuck I miss weight-lifting! I’m also a creature of habit and like to hide behind a “busy” excuse. Like many of us, I suspect. But I want to be a bad-ass bitch, and I want to be healthy, and I want to feel HOT AF in my skin. The boudoir shoot addressed a part of that, but strengthening my muscles addresses another part.
do a family tree refresh - my grandmother Noble was a bad-ass genealogist and compiled a ton of info on our family history. Her son (my uncle) took on the role of keeper of the records. But now I want to take that on from him (he’s in his 70’s). I’ve made a Google Form to send family for their updates, now I just have to put this shit in motion.
So, yeah, that’s where I’m at! Mid-January, it’s a snowy day, I’m feeling energized, also mildly unfocused, but wanting to be (focused, that is). I’m grateful you’re reading this, I’m grateful all of this is still a thing (the internet, blogs, etc). Let’s see where this year takes us!