February Is For Cultivating Patient & Persistent Kiddos

Don't try to do it all! Pick one topic and build upon what you learned each year.

Raising Luminaries February Family Action Toolkit from booksforlittles.com. A dad and his kiddo laugh and cuddle amid doodles of growing vines, hearts, stars, and megaphones.

Hi friends! Bearable New Year!

Are you feeling overwhelmed and overloaded with the onslaught of horrifying executive orders? It’s hard to prioritize and act with intention with so much coming at us, so fast - especially when our kids are in the direct line of fire.

Yesterday, our family welcomed the Year of the Snake, a time to shed harmful systems, clarify our priorities, and take opportunities for precise action.

In contrast to last year’s Dragon energy, the Wood Snake year reminds us to embrace transformation. It’s a year for families to build strong foundations, respond but not react to danger, and conserve energy for the long haul.

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This February, we’re igniting a spark of compassion in our kids by being honest about how the world really is—and what an amazing place it could be…

…if we can resist false urgency and other nonsense that distracts us from dismantling injustice from the roots up.

You only have to read one book to start changing the world.

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Panel from the vintage hopepunk comic ‘Tank Girl,’ featuring a young, skinny, gritty white girl covered in scrapes and band-aids, pulling up her boots in front of a rising sun. “I can’t let things be this way. We can be wonderful. We can be magnificent. We can turn this shit around.” (I’d love a less Kate Moss-esque icon for the hopepunk movement, but that was what I had as a kid, so it’s buried in my consciousness in bleak times)

Coming up next…

I’ll be back next week with a shard of joy to pierce our veil horrors with our February Quick Treats.

Meanwhile - as we settle into the Year of the Wood Snake - what does resistance, advocacy, and care work look like for you?

For me, it’s about coiling around and protecting those most vulnerable, shedding and abolishing broken systems, and fortifying resources for a strong attack in the upcoming Year of the Fire Horse.

Even as they burn our branches, we entwine our roots to strengthen each other.

With you,

Ashia

PS: Have you read Cerebellum? The brilliance behind our Black Futures Toolkit, Bellamy S., shares about single parenting through the challenges of chronic illness as a Queer Black disabled mom.

PPS: Every year before the holiday, SCMP publishes a fun infographic about the upcoming year. Learn more about the Wood Snake year here.