Dear Curiosity Journal,
I was on a Zoom meeting this week with board members, Taylor and Diana, and they said I seem less stressed about Dia de Muertos than in past years. I have to agree that I feel more grounded and credit the reduction of anxiety to a few key factors. 1. I’m finally learning my lesson about planning too many events and meetings in September, so I intentionally left most of the month open for Dia work. 2. Between the Wisconsin Humanities grant and increased sponsorships, there is more money in the equation, which eases the financial strain. 3. In our fourth year, we have a wonderful compilation of spreadsheets, lists, Canva templates, and shared Google docs, which our team is familiar with, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. 4. We’ve built relationships with so many amazing artists, organizations, volunteers, and participants who are excited to contribute to the celebration, and the work is spread out among more of our extended community. It has been a truly beautiful development to witness. So, this weekend, I take more joy in my tasks, gathering corn stalks, building the ofrenda and marigold archway, gathering and washing buckets for the flower harvest, laundering the ofrenda coverings, and setting up guest bedrooms. The energy is building with just two more weeks until the big day, and we’re going to be ready to celebrate!
~Joy
