In the mad blur of the “holiday season”, which in this house runs from mid-October to early January, a milestone got past my radar, a milestone that deserved more attention than it received, which was none.
December 6, 2023 was the one-year anniversary of this newsletter. I should at least acknowledge the accomplishment of keeping this little newsletter limping along for a whole year, even while my brain was still recovering from exhaustion, stress, Covid, and overwhelming responsibility, not to mention some serious imposter syndrome, when I started to read the newsletters of people who obviously know what they are doing here.
In truth, this was always meant to be an experiment, a way for me to find out if I still had as much to say as I did (or thought I did) when I stopped blogging regularly in 2016 to take a leadership position I never intended to hold for so long. When I finally had the opportunity to return to writing, I found that in those intervening years, a lot of people are saying the things I thought needed said 10 years ago, and saying them very well, to larger audiences than I have ever had.
The Universe has been on my back about letting go of things that I no longer need. I have been doing a lot of that recently: a deep, deep housecleaning; a passing on of that leadership position and all of its attachments to outcomes that I have no control over; the isolation-induced anxiety about being in crowded places; so much fear of the future, and so much self-doubt. But still, I kept getting stronger and stronger messages that I still had something to let go of.
I have struggled to admit to myself that it’s time to let go of this, even while I struggle each and every month to find the time, energy, mental stamina, and even the words, to write something worthwhile for other people to read. But as I write this last newsletter, I know I’m doing the right thing, for myself.
It’s thanks to you, my merry little band of subscribers, that I found the wherewhithal to just keep writing at all. I appreciate knowing you’re out there, and that you thought it was important to encourage me by subscribing.
Thank you.
You can still find me if you like, on Instagram and TikTok (@mamamarticooks), where I am sharing photos and videos of my life and times in the kitchen, and elsewhere. I will keep doing that, as long as it brings me joy, and hopefully brings others joy.
Meanwhile, there are a lot of really good people here on Substack, that outnumber the nazi assholes exponentially. Check out who I’ve been following, and go subscribe to their newsletters. You’ll be glad you did.