Living the Comma #7

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Holiday Letters. Miracles. Genius.

I manage a toast to the Christmas tree and one to the sweet absurdity in the miracle of the verb to be. Lucky you, lucky me.” ― Miller Williams

Dear Writer Friends,

This week, I am writing on our annual Holiday letter. I am old fashioned and still send paper letters and cards via the mail. It does not matter that sending Holiday letters has gone the way of iPods and landlines. I still believe in touching base, taking a minute, and sitting still long enough to let people know they are in our thoughts. As a writer, it feels important to use my words to share my story, in the hopes that connection fires. The quote above was part of last year’s Holiday letter. The letter focused on naming the everyday miracles in our lives.

I will always write Holiday letters. Let me explain. Holiday letters are an exercise in radical love. Radical love demands — and will continue to demand — that we build safe spaces for our stories. In a small way, my Holiday letter is my attempt to do that. I will always take stock of my years. I will always pause to say thank you. I will always reach out, especially when it is challenging and I want to crawl into a hole and pretend that it will all go away.

Holiday letters occupy a unique space. They are meaningful connection that does not wait for babies, funerals and/or weddings. They are a low-impact way to flex our relationship muscles. They are valuable in the way they require sifting through what matters (and does not) about our day-to-day — it is always interesting to see what bubbles up (and does not) in our stories.

Thank you for a wonderful writing session this Sunday. Our next face-to-face writing session is this Sunday, January 4th. To virtually connect with the group, use this link — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85095318186.

This week, let’s take a look at Martha Beck’s writing prompt from The Book of Alchemy, “Awakening your inner genius,” Mark Nepo’s reflections on December 8th, and Cheryl Strayed’s story of the ordinary miraculous.

Now off to gather and write and tell our 2025 story to our family and friends in our Holiday letter.

From the heart of the comma,

Katie

Thank you for Living the Comma with me. This community is truly love and light. Subscribe to the Wide-Awakeness Project and share your light. It has never been more important.