[practice] joy.

January is the month that I have to work hardest to feel joy.

I think it has always been this way...the typically post-holiday lull, very little daylight hours, and don't forget the cold (I do live in a place that the wind likes to hurt my face in January). However, it has been accentuated since 2010 when Mattea passed away in late January of that year.

The abundance of December can often accentuate the dimness of January.

Don't worry, this isn't a "Debbie Downer" of a post (sorry to all the Debbies who may be reading this! - I am sure you're not downers - ha!).

Grief is real, but it is because of grief that I have learned to experience even deeper and more abundant joy. Grief hollows us out a bit, but it leaves space for other feelings - like joy!

I am fully aware and engaged in consciously practicing the actions that I know increase my access to joy.

A few of them are:

Daily awe - taking time to find joy in the ordinary
Time in nature - yes, cold walks are good for the soul.
Connection - meaningful time with real conversations.
Goal setting (January is surrounded with this message, but it gets me excited for the year ahead).
Running (yes, I realize some of you are saying that this would bring you the opposite of joy, but running keeps me feeling good when life is more challenging).

What are your versions of these? or maybe you want to borrow one of mine. Practices like these truly keep you connected to joy.

with joy,

jamie

RUN WITH ME!

I have run several half marathons, but only one marathon. It was in 2020.

I had just completed my longest training run in March of 2020 when I received the message that the race that I was scheduled to run was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I would love to say that that didn't deter me and that I immediately kept training, but that isn't the truth.

I was mad (and frustrated...crushed...it represented all that I was feeling at that time - that I am certain many of you were feeling)!

I didn't run at all for two weeks (for those of you that are runners, you know that is a big deal when you are training). Then, one day I turned to Gary while we were sitting in the living room watching tv and told him I was running the marathon anyways.

One moment. One decision. That's all it takes. Running is more mindset than physical ability.

I planned to run a solo marathon through our town on a morning of my choosing that simply convenient to my schedule. Little did I know how different that day would be. Gary invited friends and family to cheer me on with signs along the course, Gary and my friend Jill joined me on different legs of the course, and they even arranged this awesome finish for me with a crowd, smoke, and even the local news (you can check out the article here).

What started as a nondescript day with a personal goal became a memory shared with so many in my community and represented a moment of hope in a time of deep sacrifice and sadness for many people - grief.

I don't know what you may need to work through right now, but running can help.

One of my goals for this year is to run the half marathon in April as a part of the Illinois Marathon in Champaign, Illinois.

Run with me! The invitation is more in solidarity and less literally. I am a bit of a solo runner for my training. However, Mattea’s Joy is a Charitable Partner of the race for the past few years now and there are events from a 5K to a Full Marathon to participate in.

I will begin that half-marathon training the first week of February and am doing my best to condition until it formally begins.

Join me if you need a goal or stress relief - or both! We will send you some fun swag when you sign up with us and we’d love to gather on race day for a group photo and help to cheer you on.

Pace does not matter! Register HERE and make sure to note that you’re running with Team Mattea. Use one of these coupon codes for a discount:

MJ10K - 10K
MJ5K - 5K
MJ - FULL Marathon
MJFULLI - Full I-Challenge (5K + Full Marathon)
MJHALF Half Marathon
If you plan to run another one of the events, email us for the codes at jamie@matteasjoy.org

joy.delivered

SO many deliveries this month! I am feeling the love from all of our transportation volunteers - Angelique, Mardelle, the Perzee family, and Alicia all helped me to get snack boxes where they needed to land this month (Advocate Oak Lawn, Advocate Park Ridge, La Rabida Children's Hospital, and Lurie Children's).

I also had a chance to drop water bottles to our partners at Prentice Women's Hospital to share with all of the fabulous moms.

joy.assembled

Friends came from across the country (from North Dakota and Minnesota to Michigan) to show their support to our family by volunteering at Mattea's Joy! I am not sure we've worked a group so much - ha!

They assembled hundreds for snack boxes, dozens of care package and helped us to organize some recent donations. Friendship matters and we are so grateful to have felt their love (and laughter - that's the best!).

A few of them shared a canoe for a very LONG race across Missouri a couple years back that benefitted Mattea's Joy - there was more than a few reminiscing moments about those days and they had a chance to see first hand what sort of work their hard work supported.

Finding Joy

In anticipation of the book release, I will be including a bit of the why behind choices for the book.

There are subtle homages to Mattea's Joy throughout the book - the butterfly being the most obvious on the cover and it can be found throughout the story as well. We decorated Mattea's room when she was a baby with purple walls and butterflies - that is how the Mattea's Joy logo came to be purple and have a butterfly. The book is remembering Mattea, but it is also a fresh story about the character Mattea and her journey to discovering how to find joy when life doesn't go as planned. The hope is that all who are reading it learn a bit of the same lesson and invite more joy into their life as a result.

Save the date for its official release in April 2025!

Interested in pre-sale opportunities? Sign up HERE .