At “The North Pole”
Sky Park at Santa’s Village
Skyforest, CA
I headed home from my holiday travels at the end of December, heart-filled with the love of family. I was tired, but happy in the distinct way grandmothers know well. I had just been given a multitude of irreplaceable moments with my best beloveds . . . Tiny hands holding mine, some still so small, and some growing too fast. Also bigger hands and hearty hugs. Teens and twenty-somethings updating me on their lives. Strong, beautiful, and grown. Smiles. Laughter. Storybooks shared. Snowman crafts. Game playing. Sleepy cuddles. All of it so cherished.
After tearful goodbyes, I checked in for my flight and went in search of a new journal at the airport gift shop, thinking I could begin it on January 1st. Last year, returning from my Christmas trip, I had purchased one there, and it had been a terrific addition to my writing life. Alas, this time nothing spoke to me, probably because I already had it in mind that I wanted a guided journal like the one I used in 2024 (The Breathe Journal 52 Week Guided Planner) and they didn’t have anything similar.
Once home, my usual routines resumed, but with more than the usual spark of wonder and worry that a new year brings. This was not going to be just any new year. Apprehensive, sad, and often angry, too, I knew that I was going to have to work hard to maintain my usual optimism and good will. Honestly, my optimism was at one of the lowest levels I have ever known. Somehow, I was still hanging on to my feeling of good will in all my daily encounters. My genuine love of the people I see during the course of a regular week’s activities lifts me up. But when I was at home reading the news, I was feeling helpless and exceptionally low.
Mr. P and I stuck to our walking schedule, which we know is a nonnegotiable necessity, and I was happy to return to my library job and to church on Sundays. These things always help. Still, I knew I needed to get more writing in, and was stuck—am stuck—as far as my historical fiction manuscript goes, so I searched online for a new journal. I found and ordered Journal Like a Stoic: A 90-Day Stoicism Program to Live with Greater Acceptance, Less Judgment, and Deeper Intentionality by Brittany Polat, PhD.
By the time the journal arrived, we were more than halfway through January, and I was physically unwell. I am only into my third day of using it, but I would say it is helping me in the way that almost any honest attempt at writing truthfully from my heart and mind can do. It focuses my mind with reading, questions me with depth, and sets a task before me. I like it.
From the book: “Stoicism is a philosophy of life in the fullest sense. As a framework for daily living, it can guide us in every decision we make, from our career choices to what’s for dinner tonight. What’s more, it helps ground us when we’re living through what feels like unprecedented times.”
The kitty is also interested in stoicism.
The three disciplines of stoicism are logic, ethics, and physics. The four virtues of stoicism are wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance. All these things I can get behind, believe that I mostly already embrace them. I say mostly, because I am ignorant when it comes to physics, and historically slack when it comes to temperance. Still! I am in. I will faithfully read and respond to the prompts in the book. I will write honestly.
I plan to continue with the other things in my life that sustain me: my love of friends, family, community, church, library, nature, reading, art, music, cooking, and pets (to name a few). And I will write the occasional blog post! I love connecting with all of you!
Cheers
To us! To a year of introspection and growth, and to a lifetime of love-motivated action and purpose. God Speed.
LakeArrowheadLadyWriter 
I’m Disappointed Enough to Ask . . .
Austin, Nevada. United States of America.
I write this on January 9, 2025, the day of President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Jimmy Carter died on December 29th, 2024. He was 100 years old, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a dedicated man who worked alongside his wife in public service and advocacy for human rights and humanitarian causes throughout his life (Habitat for Humanity being only one of them).
He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1946 with the distinction of being in the top ten percent of his class. His service in the US Navy included being selected to join the nuclear submarine program, where he and 23 other sailors opted to expose themselves to radiation to rectify a partial meltdown of an experimental nuclear reactor at Chalk River Labs in Ottaway, Ontario, Canada. As a result, the core of the reactor was successfully removed. Source: (https://www.warhistoryonliune.com/featured/jimmy-carter-us-navy.html).
Jimmy Carter was a humble man of faith who continued to teach Sunday school during his presidency. These are just a few examples of his character and place in our country.
This post is both meant as a tribute to President Carter and as a question for my community. You see, Mr. P. and I just returned from a tour of our town and were not able to spot a single American flag flying at half-staff. We were not out on a mission to check on flags. It is our usual practice to get out and about on our days off together, and today I was not working at the library because it was closed in remembrance of President Carter.
We were out in the cold bright light of a January day to take in the beauty of our town and the mountain trails and to get a little exercise.
Driving through the park at the top end of town I remarked, “Look. Someone forgot to place the flag at half-mast.” It didn’t strike me as that odd, just an oversight perhaps. Afterall, county workers had the day off, perhaps they had forgotten.
But after our walk we were intrigued enough to actually look for American flags being flown at half-mast. We did not find a single one anywhere in our town. There were a few empty flag poles. All the rest of the American flags were flying high.
I am deeply hurt. Why is not one American in this town following protocol?
Really. Please tell me, friends.
Here are the rules for flying the American flag at half-staff according to Veterans Affairs at https://www.va.gov>opa>publications>celebrate>halfstaff.pdf.
“An easy way to remember when to fly the United States flag at half-staff is to consider when the whole nation is in mourning. These periods of mourning are proclaimed either by the president of the United States, for national remembrance, or the governor of a state or territory, for local remembrance, in the event of a death of a member or former member of the federal, state or territorial government or
judiciary. The heads of departments and agencies of the federal government may also order that the flag be flown at half-staff on buildings, grounds and naval vessels under their jurisdiction.
On Memorial Day the flag should be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon only, then raised briskly to the top of the staff until sunset, in honor of the nation’s battle heroes. In the early days of our country, no regulations existed for flying the flag at half-staff and, as a result, there were many conflicting policies. But on March 1, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a proclamation on the proper times.
The flag should fly at half-staff for 30 days at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president. It is to fly 10 days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives. For an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Cabinet, a former vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, or the minority leader of the House of Representatives the flag is to be displayed at half-staff from the day of death until interment.
The flag is to be flown at half-staff at all federal buildings, grounds and naval vessels in the Washington, D.C., area on the day and day after the death of a United States senator, representative, territorial delegate, or the resident commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It should also be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in the state, congressional district, territory, or commonwealth of these officials. Upon the death of the governor of a state, territory or possession, the flag should be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in that governor’s state, territory or possession from the day of death until interment. The president may order the flag to be flown at half-staff to mark the death of other officials, former officials, or foreign dignitaries. In addition to these occasions, the president may order half-staff display of the flag after other tragic events. The flag should be briskly run up to the top of the staff before being lowered slowly to the half-staff position.”
So, I’m disappointed enough to ask . . .
Why is there not one American flag flying at half-mast in Austin today?
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