Editor's Fix

“Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon.”
— C. Day Lewis

Spring has long been thought of a time of rebirth. A time of hope, playfulness, fresh air and childlike wonder. 

In our family, my siblings and I have birthdays in spring as do my daughters and niece. So, it truly has always been a time of celebration. This year I have deeply ruminated on this, as spring has also become a time of tremendous loss. Our nana, who passed while we awaited our sweet Maria. Our mummu, as we celebrated Maria’s birthday. Our cousin, as we celebrated my niece. And most recently, our uncle as I awoke on my birthday. 

Equality has always been extremely important to me, but never as much as now, raising two young girls in an ever-changing world means I am quite literally faced with the challenges constantly. And just when we think we have taken many steps forward, extreme events happen, like a global pandemic, that take us many steps back. 

Sometimes, I take on too much. (Okay, my family might say most times. But acknowledgment is the first step, right?) The holidays make it challenging for me to ignore this… habit? addiction? of mine, as I begin to feel increasingly overwhelmed with the list of things that need to get done, alongside the regular school / work / activity schedules.

Two years ago, during my first year on the board with the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), we received a presentation on Climate Change Impacts and Implications. It was shocking and devastating and I 
left questioning my choice to have had children. What kind of mess are they going to be left with? I felt hopeless. 

Lately, I have thought a lot about women being labelled as emotional. Like it’s a negative attribute and something that should be discouraged and avoided. This has made me realize that people seem to have created a habit of commenting on other people’s emotional states. 

In January, I decided to remove the word ‘busy’ from my vocabulary. (Okay, I decided to try to remove it… it’s a work in progress.) Why, you might be asking. Well, I read an engaging article in the Harvard Business Review about happiness* and this point specifically spoke to me:

It’s the middle of November, and my willingness to dive into the Christmas spirit has arrived earlier than ever. (Less the Elf on the Shelf. That can wait.) I’ve noticed I am not alone. 

As adults, our lives are filled with tasks and timelines and schedules, to the point where we need to actively work on that connection with our spirit. While our kids might not be aware of it, they more easily live in this way and it’s something to be celebrated and emulated.

The happiness and confidence radiated from her, it was infectious and pure gold. The kind of feeling you hope your kids have a lot in life. The kind of feeling you have when you’re completely immersed in something you love.