Dear Dears,

It is sad and ironic that I spent a good hour deleting and unsubscribing from various newsletters — and now I am writing one. There is such an onslaught: the need to produce varied content to increase your value for paid subscriptions is too much. There were hundreds of unread messages, tons of words and effort, that made me exhausted to view. Half of the newsletters I receive are teasers to upgrade to paid – and while I want to support writers, this pricing model is untenable. 

And since Substack is a Nazi publication booster, I don’t feel bad about unsubscribing.

Yet here I am asking for your attention… 

Attention

When there is so much competing for my attention, my email becomes a source of stress. When I isolate a sender, I can find 2-3 emails within a day from them. Especially now, when things are so precarious, there are action alerts, advocacy notes, big sale news, insurance updates, etc etc. I go into a fugue state reviewing it all. It’s a constant email emergency. The urgency is deafening.

Perhaps that’s why my Poetry Appreciation group is so much fun. We simply focus on one poet and sometimes only ONE poem from that poet. In November, we read out loud “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude” and took delight in all the gifts within it. It was 4 people in a library room sitting together and finding community in poems. I love it. 

Gratitude

And when we think of attention, it often can lead to gratitude. If I focus it on the things that bring me joy, details emerge: the small tufts of fur between my cat’s toe beans. That cat’s ability to purr so loudly we can hear it in the next room. Zinnias I grew myself. Patrick singing along to music while he cooks. Liv laughing so hard she rolls off the couch. Making a zine by hand. Listening as two creative people talk about their work and their processes. Making those events happen. Painting a bookshelf. The joy when a puzzle piece I place snaps immediately into place – some kind of unconscious guide making the match before my eyes do. The snap of my keyboard. A gallery of photos on my phone that remind me of many moments of laughter, of love. After years without it, having a community of women with whom I feel I can be myself and am loved as I am. Seeing my cousin after so many years! All the journals I have. Doing crosswords with Patrick and nerding out over the immense cache of trivia he has in his brain. The birds having a party at the feeder. Chippies running amok! So many bunnies and skunks and squirrels. 

And so when things get dark and darker before the Solstice, I am all about pillows, soft clothes, reading books, candles, quiet.

Some News

Lisa and I are announcing a new season (10 great months) of In Conversations shortly. Sign up for our email list here to get the news! I will start my new job as a grant writer at CavanKerry Press in the new year. You can join my next Poetry Appreciation Society at the library on January 15, 2026. I should have a poem forthcoming from Glint Literary Journal soon. I will keep planting seeds (and literally so excited to plant orange poppies in the spring).

Onwards 

I will sit with my new decade. I am grateful for all the people I have met along the way and the people who are with me right now. I have learned a lot this year and will keep going with the learning and understanding.

I am going to do my best to go slowly through this hectic month. Draw my attention to joy, creativity, and relationships, and not get dragged into the hyper-consumerist holiday rush. Enjoy the candles, the lights, the nog and citrus simmers.

Happy holly days!

With Love,
Becca