All Quiet on the Western Front... Sort of
Silence is either golden or deafening
So about six weeks ago, I sort of abandoned my amazing administrative plan for running this group and this website, but for good reason! Well, "good" if you excuse my incompetence at adapting to new responsibilities alongside the usual responsibilities.
Mid-August, I decided to enroll in the Computer Aided Design and Drafting program at Francis Tuttle.
In September 2025, I became unemployed with a decent "thank you, good luck!" package from the tax business that my ex-husband and I started in 2018 and continued to operate for three years after our divorce. I have spent the last 12 months going through a lot of personal growth and reflection, which included a few difficult moments in the blended family dynamic and my very best friend getting married and moving away.
This summer, I participated in a local yacht racing club which ended up being the perfect Second Act of my "healing era." I ended up meeting a few engineers and architects who inspired me to look into drafting as my next career move - and they even recommended a specific instructor that they go to when they need to hire more drafters.
I was feeling good at my pace with OKC Spanish meeting content: posting meeting reminders and recaps, using Whatsapp to offer educational insights, publishing meeting content and supplementary resources on the website. I had a monthly checklist that I loved seeing checked-off. I was confident that I created a schedule I could stick to, and confident that my efforts would increase attendance. Then I unwittingly challenged that confidence by adding more to my plate 😅
"Life's a dance, you learn as you go." - John Michael Montgomery
Late summer and early fall are always a busy time for families - it's "Back to School" season, when everything needs to be bought, teenage drama needs to be dealt with, summer freedom changes to school responsibilities, and we are overwhelmed with communications from individual teachers, the school, and the district on top of afterschool activities and club meetings.
Between regular parenting, "Back to School" season, my own inner-work, and signing up for school after 20 years of adulting, I ended up mentally and emotionally exhausted.
... And then my ex-husband broke both of his ankles (he's fine, having fun zooming his wheelchair around). So, now I'm on full-time parenting duty until he recovers. I love having my kid at home, but it does come with its own challenges and time requirements. So, I went from having a nice, 6-month plan of stability to completely rearranging my entire lifestyle to accommodate a new career and basically being a single parent.
¿Y ahora?
Unfortunately, my efforts this summer did not result in a participation boom like I was hoping, but I am very glad to have a nice core of interested and active members, new and old. I'm also grateful that the people who show up are usually thankful for the work I do and are gracious when I hit a slump. That support has been invaluable to me.
Right now, free PDF's, Google Doc lecturas, and lectura audio are available through November. Study guides for Foundational and Beginners are available on the October Beginner Fluency Hub, but I have not made study guides for November.
I am planning to pause the work on study guides so I can focus on getting the actual meeting content produced and published. Once I have 24 months of meeting content (including lectura audio), I'll go back to creating the study guides.
I am starting to wonder (not for the first time) if I can keep up with leading weekly meetings. I've spent nearly every Tuesday since 2014 at the bookstore - but my life is very different than it was 12 years ago. So, if you are interested in playing Host for one meeting a month, I would love to talk with you about it.
Al fin y al cabo
The OKC Spanish anniversary party is on for Saturday, October 24, 2026 at Mama Roja's. Please RSVP at your earliest availability - it will make my life easier 😁 I'd really love to see all the new faces from this year and all of my favorite Legacy Members who were there in the early years of my membership in the group.
Thank you for the time you've spent chatting with me, the effort you've spent on preparing for meetings, and the support you've given over the years.
It really is the people who make this group what it is, and I'm glad you are part of it.
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