not really a recap

This year my intention was to write one blog post per week. I didn't quite make it to 52 posts, but I'm really not concerned about the number. I love writing and hadn't had much of a reason to write over the past few years, and this ended up being a great outlet for me; I've enjoyed having a purpose for thinking through and expressing my thoughts, and I've enjoyed receiving feedback and having conversation based around some of the posts. I know that I often have a bit of an alternative opinion on many aspects of life, and I hope that I've given at least one person reason to consider something differently this year (if you're that one person, let me know!) 

A few weeks ago I won The Listserve (enough of that already Bekah!) and had the opportunity to write an email for many hundreds of thousands of subscribers to read. I chose to write small tidbits about some of my passions. I received some Instagram followers and a small handful of emails back, no conversation went farther than my return email, but it was nice to connect with people in a small way. I'm not sure how many of my friends and family actually read that email, so I want to include it here on the blog. I think it's fitting to include it as my "end of the year" post, since it references many of the things I've written about this past year, and some of the things I intended to write about but haven't found the words yet. I'll include links to past blog posts as applicable; these links were not in the original email.

I truly desire to have more conversation and connection based around these passions of mine. If you're reading this and want to know more of my thoughts, or want to question the way I think about something, or want to change the way you go about this that or the other- whatever it is- please reach out. I'd love to chat, debate, consider other opinions, etc.

So, my recap that's not a recap- my Listserve email

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Hello world.

Some of my passions:

Healthy gut
The health of our entire physical and mental selves starts in our guts. We should be nourishing ourselves with real, whole food. Wild ferments. Pesticide-free crops. Homemade kombucha (my specialty), sauerkraut, sourdough bread. Bone broth, raw milk. Allll the egg yolks! Healthy fat is VITAL. I eat slabs of butter like slices of cheese. There can be a big difference between a healthy body and a nourished body.

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Fertility awareness method
I want to know how it can be deemed “empowering” to use birth control to work against your body, rather than educating yourself on how to work with your body. I used FAM to successfully avoid conception until my husband and I used it to conceive our now 19-month-old. THAT feels very empowering.

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Raising empathetic sons
When he falls down and cries, I don't tell him he's okay and to brush it off, or to be “brave” and not cry. I ask him if he's hurt, or scared, or surprised. I give him room to feel. When he tantrums, I don't walk away and ignore him until he’s done. I acknowledge his big feelings and stay there to help him process through them. I want to equip him with tools to understand his emotions rather than shut them down, and to be comfortable with acknowledging the emotions of others.

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Adoption
There is so much beauty and heartbreak all wrapped up in adoption; it mirrors redemption as it starts with loss and journeys to hope and life. Five of my siblings joined our family through adoption. My husband and I hope to grow our family through adoption some day also. I love the work that Love Without Boundaries does with the orphaned and impoverished children in China.

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Health share
Instead of standard health insurance, our family is part of a health share called Samaritan Ministries. It is one of the best decisions we have made. We send our monthly share directly to another member who uses it to pay for a specific medical bill. My pregnancy was covered 100%. 100%!!! An Urgent Care visit ended up being $17 out of pocket. The checks we received for these bills were accompanied by cards from people all over the USA, with kind words and prayers. What a beautiful community. My healthcare coverage is in MY hands thanks to Samaritan.

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Natural childbirth
Why do so many people expect childbirth to be a medical event? I am trained as a birth doula and love the privilege of being present with a mother in labor- seeing her strength, breathing through pressure waves, relaxing deeply, allowing her body to take over and surrendering to the primal beauty of birthing her baby. There is nothing like it. I wish there was better education on the different options women have for childbirth.

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Student loans
A passionate frustration. My husband and I have a cumulative 5 years worth of private college loans. Eight years after graduation we’ve worked our butts off to pay down half the loans so far but it feels like we’ll never be done. “Student debt is good debt,” they said. It’s the only debt I’ve ever had and let me tell you it does not feel good. We live minimally and have made sacrifices to pay off what we have and it’s a constant feeling of suffocation. We have no savings aside from an emergency fund; buying a home someday seems impossible. I don’t have a need to live extravagantly, but I want this weight off my chest. If you’re college-bound, I strongly urge you to consider a public school near your parent’s home. Live with zero or minimal rent, work hard to pay for your classes in full each semester, and start post-college life better than in debt. (And if you want to make my situation a community effort, I’m all for accepting donations towards these loans...)

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I could say more. Breastfeeding, elimination communication, adopt don’t shop and my one-eyed rescue kitties, playing violin; if any of this interests you please reach out or check out my blog where it’s all been written about more extensively. (Linked in my Instagram @rkozeluh)

With love,

Rebekah
USA
rebekah.listserve@gmail.com

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Here's to 2018, continuing to enjoy my passions, continuing to write, and working on my new year's intention- learning how to skateboard. Happy New Years to you all!