Monday, October 24, 2022
report
These days, I need my Quakerism a lot. Quakerism has taught me to enjoy the silence, find my peace, find my center, get direction, do the right thing. I have come to rely on that process and that inner peace, and I need it more than ever.
I counted up forty-four years of raising children, an unnaturally long time. We are at the end of raising our ten. The last ones are a little harder than the first ones. They tend to need you the most right before they become independent, too. I am not sure how all this will pan out.
I can say that our move to Galesburg has been, overall, successful. Our kids are back in school. We have a new community to support us and to support, a new place to call home. Our drive to school is a mile or less, all flat, very well taken care of by the town.
I have not met any Quakers in the area. Basically, I've been too busy. I fully intend to integrate my present Quaker activities (running Cloud Quakers, making Quaker pamphlets) with whatever is happening in the region. I know there's a meeting in Burlington, Iowa, about an hour away. Illinois Yearly Meeting is about an hour the other direction. There are probably meetings in Peoria (40 minutes) or Normal (~70 minutes). I think I'm in a place where I have no excuses for not getting connected.
My problem is that with Cloud Quakers, and all I've been doing (writing and marketing books), I haven't felt like I could take on more responsibility. It has just felt a little overwhelming.
Yet I really am grateful. We're here; we're back in the Midwest; we're holding onto our family and what we have. We're starting over.
I counted up forty-four years of raising children, an unnaturally long time. We are at the end of raising our ten. The last ones are a little harder than the first ones. They tend to need you the most right before they become independent, too. I am not sure how all this will pan out.
I can say that our move to Galesburg has been, overall, successful. Our kids are back in school. We have a new community to support us and to support, a new place to call home. Our drive to school is a mile or less, all flat, very well taken care of by the town.
I have not met any Quakers in the area. Basically, I've been too busy. I fully intend to integrate my present Quaker activities (running Cloud Quakers, making Quaker pamphlets) with whatever is happening in the region. I know there's a meeting in Burlington, Iowa, about an hour away. Illinois Yearly Meeting is about an hour the other direction. There are probably meetings in Peoria (40 minutes) or Normal (~70 minutes). I think I'm in a place where I have no excuses for not getting connected.
My problem is that with Cloud Quakers, and all I've been doing (writing and marketing books), I haven't felt like I could take on more responsibility. It has just felt a little overwhelming.
Yet I really am grateful. We're here; we're back in the Midwest; we're holding onto our family and what we have. We're starting over.
