Dear Together Friends, Fans, and Family,
As someone who dabbles in open-water distance swimming (yes, I survived my 2-mile ocean swim in Clearwater, FL last month, thank you for asking, but it was NOT PRETTY and it took me over two hours given the strength of the current, see photo below for evidence of swim completion), the concept of rudders keeps coming to mind.
I have completed over 15 open-water swims in the past decade (PSA: you too can have middle-aged extracurricular hobbies), and this was the first time I used an open-water swim buoy as a just-in-case. While this safety device didn’t necessary steer me, in the traditional sense of a “rudder,” it did provide me with a sense of security in a strong-current, creature-filled open ocean.
This got me wondering what rudders people are finding these days. As I work at recovery from my ocean swim, I’ve also been thinking about how we build intentional recovery time and practices into our daily lives.
- What steers and secures you? I have written about Minimum Daily Requirements, but I discovered the idea of a rudder on Rebecca Traister’s Substack. She wrote about not being able to peel herself away from the news, and rather than turn away, she decided to turn toward a speech from AOC – and described the listening experience as one of finding a rudder, or a stabilizer. I like this concept. We cannot and should not soak in all the noise, but having a few stable rudders can help us through choppy waters. Mine are Heather Cox Richardson, Cory Booker (thank you, thank you, thank you), Janet Mills (just ordered this shirt, all proceeds will support MaineTransNet’s work with trans and non-binary youth across my home state of Maine!), AOC, and I’m hunting for a few more. I’ll take all the rudders I can get right now, and oh, in case my views on the matter are not impeccably clear, ALL are welcomed into our Together Community. Nothing will change in our approach to serving under-resourced communities and welcoming everyone with open arms.
- What helps with your recovery? As an amateur triathlete, new-ish skier, and someone who generally loves sports in the outdoors, the idea of recovery is nothing new to me. People often talk about rest, but I think “recovery” may be a more apt term in tumultuous times. As an aging athlete (not complaining!), I need more active recovery than simple rest – foam rolling, stretching, massage and things that help me get back out and swim thousands of yards the next morning. This makes me wonder about work recovery – whether you are business-as-usual – or directly impacted by our tilting world. Are there acts of recovery you can build into your workday? Things that sustain you to do the work? I have been building in MORE interviews with organizations and humans because they give me energy to keep doing the work, plus give me even more opportunities to shine spotlights. Speaking of, did you read this Triple Together Tour? We will be back with another great one in May!
And as my Semi-Together Teens enter their fourth quarter of the academic year, and my oldest bonus daughter finalizes her college decision (Together College Student content will be in full force!), we have one last family Spring Break for the full Together Fam. Later this month, you will find me driving my Beloved Beast (aka the 2013 Honda Pilot) and Dr. Together driving our hybrid sedan (because third rows are a farce when all of your children are taller than you!), roadtripping down I95 South to the beaches of South Carolina. The last time we took this trip, I was up at 5 AM daily trying to finish the first draft of The Together Teammate, so I’m excited to be offline-ish, crushing my children at gin rummy and Yahtzee, riding bikes and dodging crocodiles and doing whatever I can to avoid cooking dinner.
Happy Eid, Passover, and Easter to all who observe. . . I’ll be making this brisket with my family and eating our weight in matzoh with salted butter.
#clogsandclipboards #togetherforever
MHM
PS Reading this, watching this, and cooking this. Also for those of you who fight the dinner slog each night, at our house we call it “island dinner” meaning all parts of dinner sit on the kitchen island from 5 – 9 PM pending adult work calls, sports practices and theater rehearsals. It works!
- It’s almost Teacher Appreciation Week! We know most administrators already have a plan (Right? Right!), but Beth Napleton has a few extra ideas, including a guide to level up your Teacher Appreciation Week plan! We also have suggestions for a full month of appreciation here and here – what else would you add to our toolkit? Tell me here!
- Celebrating the broadening of students’ post high school options? Some school systems are opening doors to other options besides college for their students’ futures. As someone who attended a public high school where many students chose vocational school, trade school, or military opportunities, I find this fascinating. Regardless, I remain deeply curious how we prepare our young people to be Together Adults!
- Go beyond the transactional. We’ve been living in “unprecedented times” for several years now, and longtime Together Friend Reshma Singh offers four great tips on how we care for ourselves along with how we care for others and the world around us based on Sewa, a core tenant of Sikhism. I personally love the “focus on the human, not the transaction.”
