Hi Reader!

Thank you for spending time with me in 2024. Unless I get a wild hair, (which sometimes happens) this will be the final newsletter for 2024.

Within my family, the next few weeks are pretty full.

• Today (December 17) is my sister's birthday. She shared this date with my uncle who has passed.
• Next week is Christmas. My parents love this holiday and we'll eat too much food and compete over "White Elephant" gifts.
• Next is Kwanzaa (December 26 - January 1) which I don't celebrate, per se, but I embrace the principles:
  • Umoja: Unity
  • Kujichagulia: Self-determination
  • Ujima: Collective work and responsibility
  • Ujamaa: Cooperative economics
  • Nia: Purpose
  • Kuumba: Creativity
  • Imani: Faith
• The following week is, of course, New Year's Day.
• Then on January 8th is my favorite of all days - my birthday!! I didn't make a wish list, but here are a few ways to help me celebrate:
  • ​Buy me bubbles / coffee​
  • Support an organization that I love - Main Street Theater , She Can Work Foundation, (I'm a Board Member for both organizations and am happy to share all the things that make them great!) and/or Nerdy Girl Success (this one is a fundraising challenge for a great organization and I appreciate your help in reaching my goal)
  • Join our Patreon Community​
• THEN on January 15th, is Dr. King's birthday which, this year, will be commemorated on January 20th and in the ironies of ironies also happens to be Inauguration Day. Here's some advice from Dr. Bernice King on how to observe the day.​

And just like that January is gone and we're looking forward to Black History Month . . . ​

Dang. My bad. I might be taking us too fast. It's still mid-December. Oops.

Planning for 2025

The Quiet Rebel's public facing theme for 2025 will be Stories that Shape Us. Over the course of the year, we will take a dive (sometimes deep, sometimes shallow) into stories from film, stage, literature, religion, current events and history that shape our view of ourselves and the world.

The first offering in this collection is a 4 week conversation series called Wicked-Ish Wednesdays which I will co-facilitate with my friend Megan Ratcliffe. We'll gather via Zoom for 75 minutes on Wednesdays in January, beginning on January 8th (Did I mention that's my birthday?). Registration for the series and more information is available here.​

For those who are observing holidays in this season - I hope they are drama free. For everyone - holidays, or nah - I wish you a peaceful year end and new year!

** I still haven't figured out the easiest way to help you share this email, but for now, here's the link.

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