In a first meeting with someone yesterday, I mentioned that I was a sixth-generation Mississippian.

That lead to questions.

I briefly told how Jonathan Hollowell and his family had moved from Wayne County, NC to Marshall County, MS in the 1820’s, to take up land left when the Chickasaw were forced to move to Oklahoma.

Her: It’s remarkable you know all that. Was that passed down in your family?

Me: No – I had to research it.

Her: It was important to you that you knew?

Me: Vital. It makes it easier to be here – in Mississippi, with all it’s issues – now, if I know how I got here.

My dad died when I was 48. For my entire adult life, every time I would call his phone, it would go the same way:

Him: Hello?
Me: Hey Daddy.
Him: Hello, son.

Every. Single. Time.

It’s the little things you miss.

It’s wintertime.

Granted, it’s wintertime in Mississippi, which means it might be 75 degrees and 90% humidity, or it might be 17 degrees. Every day is an adventure!

But it’s winter, and the days are short, and the nights are long. For my European ancestors, it would have been a total game changer. Food could run out, you might freeze. But here in Central MS in 2025, it’s just inconvenient.

But my body knows, somehow. Knows that this is a time for slowing down. Knows this is a time to stockpile calories. Knows this is a time to rest, to crave sleep more.

I’m going to try to live more seasonally in 2025. I don’t really know what that means, exactly. But it’s obvious to me that there is something baked into my genes that wants to act differently in the spring than it does in the summer, that treats winter different than fall.

I think I want to explore what that would look like this year.

I found the first blog post I ever wrote, back in December of 2003.

Bless my heart.

Last night, our neighborhood did one of its annual traditions – the burning of Christmas trees on New Year’s day.

It was a magnificent affair, as it always is. Flames that leapt 20 feet in the air. The passing of the trophy for the Fantasy Football league winner. The naming of those who died last year, those who have had job transitions, welcoming of the new neighbors. After the trees had all been cremated, we moseyed inside, where there was hot chocolate and champagne and chili and finger food.

We met new neighbors, deepened ties with folks I have only waved at on my walks, and caught up with folks I have been missing. And then we walked home in the crisp night, just five houses up the street, while talking about how much we love [our neighborhood](https://www.fondrennorth.com/about), and our city, and how grateful we are to live here.

I knew a guy once who seldom drank, but when he did, it was single malt scotch. His motto was, “Drink less, drink better.”

Going into the new year, that is my guiding phrase: Less, but better.

Fewer, better projects. Fewer, but better, articles published. Fewer, but better, income streams.

Less, but better, work.

On this first day of 2025, here is what I’m thinking about: What do I want to do more of? What do I want to do less of? How do I want to show up in the world? What are things that, if I did them, I would be glad that I did?

Here is an incomplete list of intentions I have for 2025 (That’s the first time I’ve typed that – how wild is it that we are a quarter of the way through this century?)

* I want more of my life to revolve around writing and publishing.
* I will shift most of my writing away from social media and toward my blog, newsletter, and membership site.
* I will prioritize generating income this year – preferably via my membership team and direct sales of products I create, such as books.
* My writing currently generates the income of a good part-time job. This is in-spite of, not because of, my business missteps. This year I will treat my writing like a business.
* Last year we had our first **real** vacation in 16 years. I intend to make doing that a priority again this year.
* I’m going to bring my full self into spaces – less codeswitching, less posing, less specialization. Expect this space to have content about wildlife, writing, meals, the US South, cats, being an independent businessperson, social justice, depression and neurodiversity, and more. Oh yeah, and probably even more cats than you previously thought.
* I’ve never been very good at resting – I want to learn how. Less, but better, work.

Less, but better.

I spent the morning redirecting my domains and so on with [micro.blog](http://micro.blog). I guess I am doing this thing.

I’ve spent some time working on my site notes page, in an effort to describe what I’m trying to do here. The TLDR of it all is I want to like blogging as much as I did back in 2004. Simplify, simplify.

No tags. No categories. No footnotes.

Hell, I may even put up a blogroll.