You might think I’ve been ignoring you. “No posts in over a week,” you say aloud to no one in particular. “I hope Dylan’s doing okay.”

First, I’d like to acknowledge that I am, in fact, doing okay. The news seems to leave me in a perpetual state of anxiety, but I’m able to manage it with exercise, meditation, and lots of mindfulness breaks.

I will point out that my left foot is currently far from okay. I won’t share a picture, because a good bit of it turned a gross shade of purple, but I will share a quick story about it.

I started volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois about three months ago, after I matched with a local 11-year-old. He’s been great! We spend about one afternoon together each week.

During the cold months we were forced to partake in indoor activities (bowling, mini golf and trampoline parks), but lately we’ve spent a lot of time outdoors. In addition to playing sports like basketball and soccer and activities like frisbee, my little has been teaching me how to ride a skateboard.

I’m sure you already know where this story is going. Although you might already be wincing, I’ll paint you the full picture.

I stood atop the board and glided down the sidewalk, a few feet behind him. The wheels made a soft “clunking” sound as they hit each contraction joint (that’s what the lines in the sidewalk are called) along the way. I felt my confidence in balancing and turning grow with every skateboard lesson. Today, I was navigating much better than usual.

“Let’s go to the STOP sign,” he said. I agreed and we pressed on, while I carried my phone in my left hand and his cup of half-finished ice cream in my right hand. Once we reached the sign, he decided it was time to go down a stretch of sidewalk that possessed a large elevation change.

We went down a few times with relative ease. The Menards parking lot lied to our right, and we waited patiently whenever a car entered or departed. During the third time, I launched down the sidewalk, faster than the two previous attempts. I was flying - right into the street.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a car approaching the intersection. As an unskilled, 31-year-old skateboarder, I knew I had to think fast. What would Tony Hawk do? I didn’t actually ask myself that, but maybe I should have.

I quickly jumped off the board as I approached the street, but my momentum carried me onto the pavement. Luckily, the car stopped - that’s the good part of this story. The bad part comes next.

I landed with one foot on top of the board, while the other foot twisted in an anatomically incorrect position and then experienced the weight of my body fall on top of it. Ouch. I thought I broke my ankle. The driver of the car also thought I broke my ankle. We laughed. I tried not to swear in front of a child and succeeded. The end.

Well, after five days of RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation), I’m glad to say my foot is slowly on the mend. I’ve still been working out, but no running for me this week. I’m glad I volunteered at the Illinois marathon today, instead of running in it.

Holy cow, what was I talking about? Ah, yes. I see it now. The news has been terrible (at least if you believe in democracy and all that).

So, what’s the big news?

If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it?

You may or may not know this about me, but I like to think of myself as self-motivated. So motivated, in fact, that I often bite off more than I can chew. I’ve been good about posting episodes of my weekly News, Reimagined and Dylan’s Public Journal podcasts, but my articles / blog posts certainly faltered.

I’ve also been slowly working through a Project Management course that I REALLY need to finish. Luckily, I’m on the last module. Then, there’s the book I started writing (Cracks in the Wall) and want to get back to… so many things to do!

You will see on Monday, but I have been doing a lot of writing - just on something else. The suspense is killing me, too.

Oh, I’ve also been posting daily content on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, and YouTube! I want to use BlueSky more, but it’s so much harder to get followers.

Anyway, I really appreciate your support throughout this continued journey of life. I look forward to sharing the news with you on Monday morning!

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