💬 What helped you feel hopeful?

Hi friend,

Welcome to another edition of Light News! This is a space where, once/month, we come together and share what feels like light news from our lives. Personal updates, places we’ve been, things we’ve noticed or tried, content we’ve enjoyed, etc. It’s a place for us to step back from everything else we are seeing in the media right now, and try to remember there is more than just darkness in the world. And heavens to Betsy, as my grandma used to say—I really need this right now, and I’m guessing some of you do too!

What “light news” do you have from March? I’ll go first…

We started the month in London. Tall Man and I went down for a quick weekend getaway to see a DJ we like, and joked that we were going to a rave—just like in the good old days. It might be hard to imagine, based on who I am now, but I used to spend a lot of weekends at raves in my teens and early 20s. Getting high on ecstasy (MDMA/Molly) and dancing at illegal organized events in the middle of forests up and down Vancouver Island. I even went to one on Hells Angels property just outside of Nanaimo, lol. What a time! I was curious what it would be like to go to a live set as a sober 40-year-old. The answer: so much fun! I didn’t always love getting bumped into, and was tired by 10:30pm. But it felt amazing to feel how the music could take over my body in the same way it used to, and to look around and realize you’re sharing an experience with thousands of other people. And isn’t that the point? We both agreed we’d definitely go see more DJs in the future! And if you’re counting, that’s two trips in Feb/March! Which feels like a lovely start to what I shared in December, about wanting a year of more in 2026…

Spotted on walks: The snowdrops and crocuses dying off felt like a sign that winter was coming to an end. 🥀

Lamb season! Living here, I’m even closer to the sheep fields… and I swear, some of the little babies I’ve seen have looked to be just 1-2 days old! We’ve gone for a number of walks just to see them transition: from wobbling on their legs, to chasing their moms for food, and now racing around with each other. They have been a huge source of joy this month!

Spotted: The white and yellow daffodils blooming in long drifts and huge clusters are always a sign that spring is coming. 🌼

In and amongst conversations about whether we might be going to war, I BOOKED THINGS. My annual trip home to Canada (going for most of May!). Tickets to do something fun with Sasha in June. And TM and I have been looking at what trips might go on this year, both with/without the kids. My friend Shannon and I have been having an ongoing conversation about how it feels weird to be making plans and putting down roots in various ways, with everything that’s happening in the world. But whenever a friend tells me they are booking things or making some kind of investment in their future, it feels like hope. And I want to hear MORE examples of it!

Spotted: The yellow sun and bright blue sky that comes with it. ☀️

On the money side of things, March is usually a pretty tight month for me. It’s at the end of the longest stretch I go between royalty payments (5-6 months) each year. It’s also the month I need to file my Canadian taxes. So the stress is typically high! Money was tight (especially after booking my flight back home, yikes). But it was interesting for me to notice that filing my taxes as a non-resident felt like a breeze this year. I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I just did it, and it was done. No questions, no stress, no second-guessing. It felt easy. And anytime something about money feels easy… well, that’s worth noticing! (And maybe celebrating, haha.)

Spotted: The pink blossoms have really popped out this week! 🌸

I finished the last of the calls I’ll be doing for a little while. I had a few really fun one-on-one chats with readers who are also writers and wanted to talk about publishing!

And this actually came out at the end of February, but I was a guest on the Pen Pals podcast hosted by my friend Kelton Wright and Krisserin Canary! It’s all about publishing, my two books, advances/royalties, juggling projects and more. You might want to listen, simply to learn more about these parts of my life! But you might be particularly interested, if you’re a hopeful writer who wants to learn more about my author experience.

Listen to my conversation on Pen Pals!

Shifting over to content I’ve enjoyed this month: I’m not going to tell you about the books I read yet (my update on historical fiction + my next book giveaway will be coming next week!). What I will tell you is this, friend: if you’re having a hard time focusing on a book right now, I will always recommend trying a middle grade option. The middle grade book I read this month was exactly what I needed.

Also: I’m excited that a new season of XO, Kitty is coming out next week! 😍

We celebrated Tall Man’s birthday! And woke up to sunshine that day. The first thought I had was: sunny days are starting to feel like the norm. After the darkest/wettest winter I’ve experienced here, it almost feels weird to see rain now. We even had a handful of sunny days that reached 14-16°C (57-60°F) this month! I’m afraid to jinx it, but it feels like spring is finally here… and it is the most hopeful season of them all.

Spotted: The long green grass that needs to be cut for the first time this year. 🌱

I’ll close with a couple links:

Jack Ben Edwards asks Andy Weir (author of Project Hail Mary) if optimism comes naturally to him.

And what’s more hopeful than this? A beautiful project by Katie Hawkins-Gaar.

What helped you feel hopeful this month, friend?

And what plans are you making for this year?

xx Cait