Sunday Snippet: The January 2026 Musings Edition

How it’s already January 18? Wasn’t it just Thanksgiving? Heck, wasn’t it just summer, for heaven’s sake? Time is going by too quickly. Basically, we’re hunkered down here because the weather is so bitter, flu and Covid are rampant, and I’m doing a round of a topical chemo cream on some pre-cancerous spots on my face, which makes me look kinda gross. I feel safe in my little brick house in the Nest, but the days are are dark–not just because of the season but also because of what is happening in our nation and in the world.

We watch events in Minnesota with horror, praying for the folks there, and for our congress to put a stop to the brutality of ICE. We continue to search for the light and pray for the safety of all the peaceful protestors and the innocent immigrants they are trying to protect. I pray for the international community and NATO, who are standing up to a tyrant-child who thinks he can simply stamp his foot and get whatever he wants–oil,  land, money, power. I send them light and strength and hope they can stave off disaster. I’ll continue emailing and calling my representatives and senators, begging them to bring sanity back to our government. And I’ll speak out when I can and keep sending help to organizations who are either serving the helpless or fighting for justice. It feels small, but it’s what I can do.

I’m meditating. I’ve done Insight Timer every single day for 455 consecutive days. (I told Husband the only other thing I’ve done for 455 consecutive days is be married to him!) It’s pretty transformational, and honestly, just the discipline of it has been transformative. First thing each morning, meditation is how I start my day, before I write for a few hours and then begin the day job. The morning meditation closes with a few moments of gratitude. On days, when I am overwhelmed at the tasks before me, when it feels as though I will never get to take a day just for me ever again, I remember that every day is mine if I let it be. I’m the one who must look for the joy.

So I’m working on finding the joy in the ordinary. The ritual of making coffee in the morning, the scent of the beans as I grind them, the aroma of the coffee as it brews, and ah, that first sip… what joy that is! How lucky I am to have coffee available to me at the flick of a switch. This morning, I woke to snow on the ground and it was gorgeous, even though it barely covered the grass. I opened the front door and sniffed the crisp cold air and that set me up for the day. Ahhhh–the scent of snow.

I wrote about 1250 words yesterday (not bad for a Saturday), which finished another chapter in Rory and Millie’s book, intriguingly titled Help Wanted, Cowboy. That felt wonderful. All in all, writing is my escape–At Juniper Falls Ranch (and in River’s Edge), I’m the one who says what happens, I’m the puppet master, controlling people, events, and everyone’s health. Nan’s fictional world is a lovely place, even lovelier when the real world isn’t all that great. I think 2026 will be a year of depending on that escape into fiction when reality becomes way too hard to bear. Join me?

Gratitude for This Week: The people who are fighting the fight–protesters and mayors and the governor of Minnesota; the countries coming to defend Greenland against an invader; writing; talking to Son as he drives home from school; my amaryllises are blooming!

Stay well, stay safe, speak out–we absolutely must, and most of all, mes amis, stay grateful!