From the President

Dear Members, Colleagues, and Friends,

Happy Holidays! We’ve done it. We’ve made it to the end of the year. A time filled with cheesy movies and family time. As we should be rewarded for our efforts to make it to December, our theme for this month is “Rest and Reflection.”

I have a confession to make – I am not good at resting. As I like to tell my friends, “I have no chill.” And there are many women I know just like me. Constantly going, doing, working. A perennial desire to be productive. If I had an Apple Watch, I would probably be horrified to learn how restless my sleep often is and how many steps I take in a day. This tendency is only worsened by the fact that our profession by and large rewards constant work. But friends, sometimes you cannot do it all. And that’s okay. In fact, this newsletter is being sent a bit later than I would have liked because #life. And when I mentioned that to one of my board members, she thanked me for being a real person because sometimes it cannot all get done. I think this is the first time anyone has ever thanked me for being honest about what I perceive as a shortcoming, and it made me think. Perhaps we should all be a bit more “real” about this struggle, no? We all have goals, but remember WE set them, WE set the deadlines and WE have the power to adjust as necessary!

So, I would like to gently encourage you to take this holiday season as a time to focus on rest and relaxation. You can also include reflection if you feel so inclined.

Here are this month’s book recommendations:

• How We Heal by Alexandra Elle (This is the book for all of you who are ready to deep dive into serious contemplative reflection.)
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (This book is for those of you seeking out a more “fun read.” Fair warning - it’s a little dystopian, but I enjoyed it.)
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (Definite fun read. Engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable!)

Sherry Fox
MRWBA President