“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” – Anne Lamott.

It’s 3 months into 2022 and so much has happened in our lives, as well as in the world around us. Each piece, every event serves as a lesson. Depending on the event and just how large it is, it serves as a life lesson for me, or for the world. So let’s start big and get smaller as we go on, shall we?

The Russia-Ukraine crisis is terrifying for anyone in this world. Let’s face it. This is the first war, on this large of a scale, where we will watch it play out on social media. We will be exposed to raw information, video, and have information at the palm of our hands. We will be affected by it in many different ways, personally, economically, and mentally, to name a few.

It is okay to feel afraid, overwhelmed, and concerned for the future. As a mother, I’ll admit I do fear for my son to grow up in this world. But then I realize that I am raising a boy who will be part of the next generation. He will watch these things play out just as we are doing now. Whereas he won’t understand what is happening quite yet (and probably won’t for a long time), he will be able to look back and realize the strength of those citizens in Ukraine- who fought off the Russian military, in order to save their homes, their families, neighbors. He will witness the bravery of the citizens of Russia, standing up to their government in protest of what their country is doing. He will witness a real-life David and Goliath scenario.

If this doesn’t give us hope…. as a nation, as a world, or even just us on an individual level, I don’t know what does.

Just as our world must heal, I want to be sure to update you on Mark’s journey of healing since his surgery. As I am typing this, we are 7 weeks post-op. Mark has been walking, running, jumping, climbing, sitting criss-cross, and so much more. We’ve dialed back our Physical Therapy appointments from 5 visits to 4 per week. He’s made some incredible strides. He’s riding his tricycle and driving his little Audi with much more ease. It’s almost… given him more confidence in a strange way. It is such a wonderful thing to see, my son who no longer knows limits, finally, get to do so many things he’s been trying to do so for so long. I am so excited to see what the future holds for him.

Growth. I am so pleased to announce that I am hitting the ground running with trying to establish this as a nonprofit. As of June 2022, I will have earned my Graduate Certificate of Nonprofit Management and I am just one step closer to earning my Master of Public Administration with concentrations in Nonprofit Management and Health Administration. Soon, we will be adding an email list. So be sure to stay in touch in order to receive any updates, or be notified of new articles (like this one). I am so excited to see what the future holds for this blog, this program, and this organization. All of this has brought me out of my shell. It’s required me to get uncomfortable, but after all… isn’t that growth?

I will share updates once again in another few months. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being here. This means the world to me and I can never thank you enough for showing up here, every Monday, and reading our journey. I know this isn’t the usual top-notch blog post, and I am so sorry. I am just so glad you’re here, reading through the mundane as life does get to be mundane for us as well. It isn’t always intensity, or drama-filled and it doesn’t always cause a stir. It’s just a mom… taking it day by day, one coffee and toddler tantrum at a time. Thank you.