December 7, 2022

Dear Reader,

It’s hard to truly remember life before covid and its endless disruptions to every aspect of our work and home lives. I would love to wake up and not hear anyone utter the words: “tested positive” or “quarantining” for a full 7 days.

At the same time, I don’t remember 2019 and the years before it as being particularly easy. For leaders, educators and caregivers, there has always been this dance of: not enough time, not enough resources, and not enough space to breathe, reflect and restore. I remember being extremely busy and extraordinarily tired pre-pandemic. This was, and is, life under a capitalist and inequitable society. It’s painfully obvious that the covid pandemic deeply exacerbated all of the inequities and challenges that folks were facing before. On top of that, the normal challenges of living, loving, transitioning and growing have continued for everyone.

As we slide into year 3 of this pandemic (now with a surge of covid-flu-RSV to boot), I am speaking with early education leaders across the U.S. and I am hearing similar things: staff is burned out and children are struggling with physical and mental health challenges. Caregivers are stretched too thin. Leaders have no training and support to lead through these unprecedented times.

There is much systemic and policy work we need to commit to in order to shift these trends.

However, today, in acknowledgment of how tired so many of us are, I want to offer an invitation for you, you personally, to rest.

There are seven types of rest that we all need to partake of: physical, mental, sensory, creative, emotional, social, and spiritual rest. None of these types of rest require us to spend money, but they do require us to pause, check in with ourselves, and to create a little space for ourselves to actually rest. On a personal note, I am proud of how much emotional rest I’ve been giving myself lately. I am realizing that I need to give myself more opportunities for creative rest (it might be time to pull out my knitting needles and cozy wool yarn).

What type of rest have you been prioritizing lately?

Rest Practice: Take a deep breath. Breathe in for a count of 4, breathe out for a count of 6. Repeat it. Repeat it again. Now, say out loud: “I am worthy of rest. I will honor myself with rest today by….. (fill in the blank).

I’d love to hear from you: just reply to this email and share how you’ll honor yourself with rest today.

What we're up to!

Journey to Nia Winter Retreat: Centering Black joy and eradicating anti-Black racism for early childhood leaders and educators

When: Friday, January 6, 2023, 6:00pm - 9:30pm ET &

Saturday, January 14th, 2023 10:00am-1:30pm ET

Learn more and register here.

Thanks to the generosity of Defending the Early Years, there is a sponsorship available for one participant to our Journey to Nia Retreat. You can apply to receive this sponsorship and attend the Retreat for free by filling out the application here by December 5, 2022.

{POSTPONED} Identity, Anti-Racism and Belonging (IAR-B) workshop series: 3 Part Series. Check back for updates in 2023.

Resource Corner!

Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change by Octavia Raheem

*Disclaimer: I receive commissions for purchases made through Bookshop links.

Lots of people were traveling, or otherwise engaged when the last newsletter came out two days before the “Thanksgiving” holiday, so if you didn’t get a chance to read it, you can read it here.

Thank you for reading our newsletter! Please share it with your networks.

In Collaboration,

Takiema and Team Anahsa

Creating joyful and liberated lives in early childhood, and organizations.™