And now… it’s July, 2021. Nearly a year since I blogged! (I didn’t even do a blog post about PIKA COUNTRY, CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD. What?! If you buy it, I hope you’ll do so from the independent bookstore of your choice.)
It’s been a time, hasn’t it? I hope you’re doing Ok. Maybe for you, as for me, it’s been a time of introspection.
I’ve learned that I deal with Difficult Things:
1) By learning all I can about the Difficult Things. Knowledge is power, right? (It’s one reason I love making books for kids and communicating science to all ages. Because knowledge is power. And we need facts—FACTS—more than ever right now, eh?)
2) By sinking myself into work—until I’m almost sunk, apparently…
The last 7 months have been non-stop intense. I’ve illustrated a challenging but super interesting nonfiction book for my publisher Web of Life Children’s Books and two books for private clients. I’ve created various graphics for scientists, edited a number of books, and done virtual school visits and conference sessions. And on top of it all, my amazing Pixel Movers & Makers collaborator Kevin Pluck and I were invited to create animations for a documentary about Antarctica. It was an opportunity we couldn’t reject, everything we dreamed of when we first started our venture a few years ago.
We* did it on a tight deadline. Everything has been on a tight deadline. In truth, I’ve worked myself to the bone to meet the overwhelming deadlines and distract myself from Difficult Things. I’ve tried hard in all my most important relationships but not always done the good job I’d like. (I’ve not seen either of my parents in well more than two years now. It kills me.) The floor has not always been swept (insert other domestic tasks here), but my kid did graduate from high school while studying virtually in a pandemic. I’ve pushed myself to near (sometimes past) the limits of my endurance and mental health, but I am healthy. I have watched the pointy edge of the Climate Crisis slicing its way across the planet but so far remained unscathed.
I’m a lucky one. I’m housed, employed, healthy, living in a (cough) relatively stable society, and (like less than 11% of the world’s population) fully vaccinated against COVID. My family and my dearest friends have so far stayed safe and fairly healthy. Most days, I am just very, very grateful, and from daily gratitude and acknowledgment of all the good things come happiness and strength. I hope you have that, too.
*Mainly Kev