Some updates and the like

An upcoming post, hang out with me in real life, an overdue donation, and more

I have this pet peeve. It’s when writers who haven’t published something in a while start off their next post by apologizing for not publishing in a while. Unless I really like the writer or they’re a good friend, I usually don’t make it past a few sentences. It’s a waste of everyone’s time—including the writer’s.

But man, when I’m the one who hasn’t published something in a while, it’s soooo tempting to do it.

Anyway, hi. Good to see you all again.

Here are some updates about what’s going on for me and what to expect soon.

1.

I will be publishing a brand spanking new, full-on, totally original piece this Saturday, December 21st at exactly 8:08 am PT. It’s part of a quarterly series I write with my writerly brethren

Latham Turner

,

Joshua Doležal

,

Bowen Dwelle

,

Michael Mohr

, and

Dee Rambeau

. This time around, we’re each exploring our Personal Philosophies.

Latham kicked us off yesterday with this stunning letter to his son, whom he has been homeschooling—and writing about the ups and downs throughout.

A letter to my son

2.

On Monday, January 13th, I’m hosting a live version of the writing circles I’ve been facilitating online for over a year now. If you’re in the Sonoma, California area—or somewhat nearby—come hang out with me at my Community Writing Circle at the Sonoma Community Center!

It’ll be a two-hour session where I will introduce you to some modalities I’ve learned as part of my work at the writing collective Foster. Practices such as mindful writing and somatic experiencing will help you drop into what feels most alive for you in the present moment and write from that place.

I’ll also be available for light coaching to help get you unstuck if needed. But otherwise, there are no prompts, guidance, or instructions. You are welcome to write, edit, or revise anything you like. All types of writers, both new and seasoned, are welcome, including those who are writing books, essays, articles, letters, blog posts, journal entries, software applications, you name it.

This is your invitation to come write and connect with others doing the same.

3.

I can’t remember when I turned on the paid subscription option here on Substack. But since then, I’ve been floored anytime someone pays me money for this newsletter, especially with how sporadically I’ve been publishing lately (I’m still trying really hard not to apologize for it), and because you don’t get anything different or special if you do pay.

I did make one promise that I’ve been lagging on fulfilling for far too long, though. For each paid subscription, I donate either 10 or 15% (depending on the subscription level) to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

For those who are newer here, my daughter Emily has severe cerebral palsy. The CPF funds great research and initiatives around the world to help make life a little bit better for those with CP.

So yesterday, I donated exactly $265.60 to CPF. I kicked in a bit myself to cover their processing fees. Thank you to all my paid subscribers! If you’d like to join them, you can do so below:

4.

Speaking of Emily.

First of all, we mostly call her Em.

Secondly, she is nonverbal. We’ve tried different communication tools without much success. But a few months back, she started using an incredible new system called PODD. It stands for a mouthful of a term: pragmatic organization dynamic display.

The concept is simple, but it can get complex quickly.

She has a book filled with a wide variety of different words and corresponding symbols that we use to try to understand what she wants. It’s broken down into various categories of high-level things she might want to say or ask. We scan through them and she moves her head either up and down for yes or side to side for no. Once she picks the category, then we scan again through the words within it to hopefully get to what she’s trying to express.

It was challenging at first since it’s even difficult for her to control her head enough to consistently say yes or no using it. But as she’s gotten better at it, it’s been surprising to get a glimpse into what’s going on in her world. Sure, she has become adept at navigating to “I want —> a video” so she can watch her favorite Raffi live concert. But she has surprised us many times too.

Shortly after she got home from school yesterday, she had a dry diaper so I put her on her potty chair. She almost immediately started whining a bunch, which usually means she has something to say. So I scanned her using her PODD book and she said, “I don’t like this —> boring —> another word —> I want —> music.” I couldn’t help but smile.

There’s a teenage boy in Em’s class who has been learning and using PODD for several years now. When he’s in his wheelchair, he can control a tablet device with similar categories and words by tapping sensors using the sides of his head—one sensor scrolls through his options and the other selects a card. He can write full-on emails, including one that he sent to his teacher to let her know that her lesson plan was boring!

This is by far and away the most promising and exciting thing we’ve seen for Em’s communication yet. I love that it will not only give her a voice but will ultimately give her more agency in her life. I can’t wait to get to know her more.

5.

I recently started a little side gig as a caddy at a brand-new golf course called Brambles. Long-time readers of this newsletter know that I’m an unapologetic golf nerd. This place ticks just about every box for me: an understated, engaging design with firm and fast grass that fits seamlessly into the natural landscape and isn’t surrounded by McMansions.

And it’s fun to work outside, meet new people, and hopefully help them play a little bit better than they would’ve on their own.

Here are some of the pics I’ve taken out on the course:

A pic of me caddying and walking off the 7th hole, the approach to the 5th green with the "alligator tree" on the right, and the 4th green

They also have a full-time rancher on staff who takes care of a flock of sheep who munch down some of the longer grass so the maintenance staff doesn’t need to use gas-powered mowers as much.

If you’re a golf sicko like me, you’ll enjoy this short video about the place:

Speaking of golf, I recently played at Chambers Bay near Seattle, the course that hosted the 2015 U.S. Open Championship. During my round, I experienced everything from bright sunshine to a torrent of rain coming down sideways. It was a blast. It also helped that I finished the round strong and shot even par on the back nine.

I was able to snag this epic-looking pic of the course at the end of the day:

On that same trip, my wife Allison and I spent a couple of relaxing days at a tiny Airbnb cabin on Fox Island, the one across the water on the right in the pic above. I tried to not be glued to my phone too much, but I was able to snap this pic from the cabin:

Yes, I have a thing for framing photos with a lot of the sky in them.

There’s a lot more I could write about other recent golf experiences I’ve had, but I’ll spare you (for now).

---

I think that’s mostly it. I’ll see you here again this coming Saturday!

---

If you liked this little update post, it would be awesome if you could give the heart button below a tap