Be relentlessly intentional towards joy

How to fight against the bad guys.

Did I ever tell you about the time I found a love for hummingbirds? When I was growing up, my West Texas grandparents would take us camping to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. (If you’ve read my book, these are the farming Grandparents from Lubbock.) Those were the ‘big mountains’ to those of us who grew up in the desert or flat-plains of Texas/New Mexico. (It would be years later before I went to Colorado and had to redefine what ‘big mountains’ meant. Ha!) But, Cloudcroft was magical to us grandkids. We explored and wandered and imagined. My Granddaddy always found the perfect spot to park the camper that seemed extra magical. Then, my Grandmother would hang the hummingbird feeders. And, that’s where I learned to put your finger on the landing spot, stand really still, and wait. And, wait some more. Because at some point, the hummingbirds would come over. AND LAND ON YOUR FREAKIN’ FINGER. Guys, this was delight upon delight to my 10-year-old-self. (Here’s a fun pic of me with my Granddaddy and Dad on one of those camping trips.)

I’ve thought a lot lately about this type of delight. Mainly because I’ve told my husband more times I can count that I’m determined this time around to not let stress or despair or the awfulness of the world win. During 2020-2021, the awfulness plowed me over eventually and knocked me down for months at a time. It (‘it’ being threats at the house, against my kids, losing a church, friends, community, moving, more threats) was too much, and my body would protest in keeping the score with a strong ‘no more!’, landing me fully in bed for ~18 months. It was as awful as it sounds. I’ve written at length about that time – but, I want to talk today about some of the worst part of it. And how to fight back.

****These paid posts are always more personal than my regular science ones, like the Neighbor Tuesday posts. If you’re wondering why, here’s an explanation. Not all of you will want the personal musings and I totally understand that. I also include why I give a preview of these posts to everyone. Not as a bait-and-switch! Believe me, that’s about as opposite of me as you can get. It’s simply to let you all know what content is in the paid posts in case it’s something you’re interested in. The science posts are always free!***