HeatherKatsoulis.com

I am lucky, blessed, really.

Each day I

• wake up to the sweetest alarm: my almost 4 year old daughter
• enjoy a calm, un-rushed healthy breakfast with my whole family at the dining room table
• work from home on my dream career: children’s photographer
• am grateful for free part-time childcare from my parents and mother-in-law
• eat a natural, whole foods, vegetarian dinner with my whole family at the dining room table
• relax in my cozy home
• read stories and snuggle with my daughter
• go to sleep next to the love of my life in an always cozy bed

In addition, each Wednesday is family day with Jim and Syna.

Each Friday night is date night with my husband. (We’ve been together for 19 years.)

Each Saturday is family date night with Jim and Syna.

Each Sunday is family breakfast with my dad’s family (whoever decides to show – 4-15 people)

I have nothing to complain about. Truly. And I worry about others. Most of the world doesn’t have it nearly as good as I do. I feel extravagant, even when I appreciate what I have and do what I can to minimize my impact on the planet.

We’ve downsized to 1 car, we got rid of cable television, we compost our food waste (and it’s most of it since we’re vegetarian) and recycle to the extent that our family of 3 “throws out” 1 grocery bag of trash per week, we telecommute, we used cloth diapers for our daughter, we bring our own reusable bags to stores and purchase items with limited packaging, we switched our heating system to a high efficiency solution, we shower every other day… We’re conscious of many of our decisions.

And yet we use so much. We have so much. We are never even uncomfortable. We have heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, food available 24/7, constant electricity, transportation, money, instant communication devices, we’re safe. Even on the coldest/hottest days, if I travel, I walk 30′ outdoors to my garage protected car, start it up, turn on the heat/air and I’m comfortably on my way.

It has long been my belief that to truly help others I must start with myself.

To put the world in order, we must put the nation in order.
To put the nation in order, we must put the family in order.
To put the family in order, we must nurture our personal life.
To cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.
- Confucius

But it doesn’t seem like enough when I have so much. And, really, it’s all by luck I ended up being born into my situation.

“There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

How do I stay happy when I am aware of so much suffering?

Update: Massachusetts officials will reopen Holyoke Soldiers Home clinic | Breaking News – MassLive.com


You’ve probably heard by now that the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home will be closing its outpatient clinic due to Governor Patrick’s veto of $500,000 worth of funding.

Veterans clinic at Soldiers’ Home of Holyoke scheduled to close

Now, you may think that it’s just a sign of these poor economic times; however, Gillette Stadium (of the NFL’s New England Patriots) just received $9 million for a footbridge. Really? That’s where our state’s priorities are?

$9m in stimulus funds approved for footbridge near Gillette Stadium

This truly pisses me off. My father’s doctor is through the VA hospital and he is now getting the boot.

Please, I am personally urging you to email, snail mail and call your local representatives to express your disappointment in this decision.

Massachusetts’s Representatives – Congressional District Maps

Mission: To facilitate a massive
“Thank You Michelle Obama for
Planting the White House Kitchen
Garden campaign.” We need letters
from young people (and people
young-at-heart) who appreciate
the First Lady’s commitment to
healthy food and healthy citizens!

More info at: TheWhoFarm’s Thank You Michelle Obama Project.

Check out how the White House organic garden is growing:

The White House Organic Garden
Michelle Obama dug up a patch of the South Lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets – the president does not like them – but arugula will make the cut.

The White House Organic Garden
Michelle Obama dug up a patch of the South Lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets – the president does not like them – but arugula will make the cut.


and a related site:
The New Victory Garden
You’ve heard of the Victory Gardens and rationing during WWII and how vegetables grown at home helped families and the war effort. Now, amidst a bleak economy and mechanized, nutrient and soil depleting agribusiness, many people are thinking about growing some of their own veggies but are unsure of how to get started. This site aims to be an inspired guide to resources in starting and maintaining a bountiful organic garden for any level of grower throughout the year.

“Yesterday was a historic day. On January 20th, 2009, Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America – the first African-American ever to hold the office of U.S. Commander-in-Chief. The event was witnessed by well over one million attendees in chilly Washington D.C., and by many millions more through coverage on television and the Internet. Collected here are photographs of the event, the participants, and some of the witnesses around the world.”
[via Boston.com's photoblog,The Big Picture] (48 photos total)

(REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi)