With Love & Intention
Spending New Year's Eve Alone
After hours of dithering and feeling uncomfortable in my skin, A message to myself to let go of my sense of misery about what I have or haven’t done, What I’ve said that might have hurt someone I love. But I spoke too quickly, too unthinkingly, with too little empathy. And words can’t be deleted, once they’re spoken, no matter how long ago. They don’t belong to us, once we say them to someone else. Why should anyone else be burdened with my dirty laundry, especially someone I love and esteem? Someone whose love I depend on. Let me fill up the washer with my dirty clothes, and add detergent, and choose the correct cycle for getting them clean. When my laundered clothes have dried on the line in a fresh, sweet breeze, I’ll be able to say what I should have said, With love and intention this time. Copyright ©️ 2025 by Barbara Quick
If We Look
Here we are, in the middle of what’s not supposed to be happening right now: History is hatching, poking through its eggshell with hairy claws, right before our eyes. Stinking of sulphur and dripping vitriol. Snapping its jaws and slavering over every single value we’ve held dear.
We don’t have the luxury of looking back and thinking, I’m so relieved it’s over.
We’ve read about these moments in other times and other places, but temporal boundaries have disappeared. The ship of state has been hijacked by Evil incarnate, glowing orange from bonfires fueled by greed and hate.
Come closer, my dear ones, and help me understand what we can do to band together, to look at the monsters full on, to go underground, if need be: to form a barricade.
We need to enlist our greatest minds and machines to create a strategy, right now, to act collectively and effectively to resist. Ukrainians have been showing us how it’s done. 🇺🇦
We’ve had the luxury so far, a lot of us, of looking away. But we have to step up if there’s to be any hope that we and the planet can survive.
Could we possibly just laugh them out of office?
The Best Christmas Present I Ever Got
My favorite decoration in this place where I’m cat-sitting:
This works best if you go to the SubStack app. But I’ll get your comments in any case.
Thank you so much for dropping by to cheer me on! Writers are nothing without their readers.
I’ll see you next year, everyone! Be well, be brave, be strong! ❤️





Happy new year, Barbara! And I want that beautiful mobile. Fantastic!
Happy New Year 2026 to one of my very favorite people in this universe of ours - may we all unite & pray that 2026 is a better year for all human beings - peace, love & light :)