Hello Reader,

Yesterday morning, I opened my laptop to a rough email from a partner organization that landed a punch in the pit of my stomach.

I also discovered three charges on two different credit cards that I didn't recognize, resulting in 40 minutes with customer services (to no avail) and a cancelled credit card.

My 5-year old seems to be constantly sick, swinging from ear infection to barking like a seal to runny nose.

And then I opened the medical bill for said ear infection.

In other words, things have felt harder than usual. Heavy.

And while I would love to crack a joke about it, shrug it off as no big deal or look for the silver lining, I'm just here to say: Sometimes, things are hard.

Sometimes we face conflicts that we can't resolve.

Sometimes we try our absolute best and it feels like it's no good.

Sometimes we can't or don't want to put on a brave face.

Sometimes we need someone to reach out and ask how we're really doing.

As an East German living in the US - the land of constant optimism - I need to remind myself of the fact that life isn't always roses and unicorns, and that that's ok.

If you're going through a tough time, please remember that that, too, is part of life.

It won't always be that way and you are in no way obliged to "look at the bright side". Feel the feelings, reflect, and - if you need to - reach out and ask for help.

I'm right there with you.

---

Between my ears

Life, most recently: Things I'm excited about, pondering and trying out:

• The last two talks we had at Creative Mornings Shenandoah Valley equipped me with much needed insight into this season of heaviness.
  • Piper Groves spoke about Simplicity in her creative process, how often she failed and thought she sucked. You can watch the highlights here.​
  • Helen Bisset & Lauren Haskell shared how their journey - first as co-founders and then as friends - built their resilience and endurance. Here's a little sneak peek. ​
• With my husband being gone half the week for work, I've been relying heavily on meal prep. I swear by these cottage cheese overnight oats . You can skip the protein powder and you can use any milk you like. I typically grate an apple instead of berries and add some raisins - it's as close to Bircher muesli as I've ever gotten.
• The other meal prep I HAVE to share are these Tuscan Chicken Bakes. It took about an hour and I had 5 lunches already in their containers.
• One of the best places in the Valley to get a (maple-dipped!) croissant and great bread is Season's Yield Farm. Not only am I slightly obsessed with this adorable family (5 children!), their farm and fortnightly bread days; founder Daniel Shear just launched a podcast called The Baker & The Farmer. He and in his friend (the farmer) chat about the joys and nightmares of running brick and mortar businesses and I'm so here for it!
• As I shared in my last newsletter, I've been catching up on my personal finance education with Tori Dunlap & Financial Feminist. She just shared an article to help us plan financially for the holiday season and I obviously can't keep that to myself!

---

On my desk

What I'm working on right now:

• While things have been a little heavy, I've also had GREAT news! The next Startup Champions Network Summit will be taking place here in the Valley! If you want to see the announcement, you can watch me talk into a camera right here! You're welcome!
• This week, we're piloting a new event format to engage local entrepreneurs with their ecosystem: Imagine speed-dating but instead of meeting the love of your life, you meet experts for a specific topic (social media, SEO, accounting etc.) and get to ask them all the questions for 15 minutes. Then you move on to the next expert. Super excited to try this!
• I'm putting the finishing touches on an article about a super fun event here in the Valley for the next issue of Millpond Collective. If you want to read about awesome people in the Shenandoah Valley doing awesome stuff, check out previous issues here and grab your subscription:

Millpond Collective

---

Featured Episode

​

On grief Annie Wood is an expert when it comes to honoring your needs and processing hard times. She also just completed Annietober. So much good stuff in season 5, episode 5 (E 5.4): Listen & subscribe

---

On my radar

I come across a lot of resources that I want to share with fellow ecosystem builders and changemakers. If we're connected on LinkedIn or Instagram, they might already show up in your feed! In case you missed any, here's my curated list from the last two weeks:

• ​Here is a list of opportunities (fellowships etc.) for African Changemakers.
• If you're looking for your next role or know someone who does, point them to the Skoll Foundation Community Job Board.
• GitLab is looking for an Impact Measurement Fellow.

---

If you are a parent (or physician!) who has cracked the code on how to keep kids healthy through the winter months, hit me up!

And if you, too, are going through a hard time and talking about it would help, please reply to this email.

I will be back in your inbox in two weeks. Hang in there friends!

In camaraderie,

Anika