A new chapter, a new Substack

Exciting updates on what’s changed about Tiny Moments after major life changes

Our funeral friend showing us where mom will be laid to rest.

The Tiny Moments newsletter has become Losing Orbit!

Ever since my mom died, I couldn’t bring myself to continue writing the drafts and outlines I had saved up in my Google Docs.

It just felt… off; I couldn’t breathe life into those pieces anymore.

Now everything about my life is laced around the aftermath of losing my mom, and my identity as a caregiver, and–surprisingly–the courage I once had to confidently chase after the life I desired in the way that was best for me (which some could say is a bit controversial¹).

So, things have changed a bit around here! Why don’t you take your shoes off at the door, grab a can of peach ginger sparkling water out of the fridge, and I’ll give you a tour.

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With Losing Orbit, I’m ready to explore what life gets to look like for me in the face of processing grief, and the autonomy I abruptly no longer have to fight for.

Who do we become when we lose our center of gravity? I’m genuinely wanting to explore that together.

I’ve updated my about page but to reiterate, Losing Orbit is an amalgamation of both what it can look like to lose your center of gravity, and to find it again.

Whether from disease, abrupt changes in our lives, loss… anything we thought we had a grip on, life has the ability to show us perspectives we’ve never had to focus on before. And it’ll be up to us to figure out how to best handle it all. 

The cosmic theme and puns around Losing Orbit may seem cute (cause they are), but I’m realizing it’s what I’ve been gravitating toward (pun semi-intended) since my mom’s death.

I learned that despite being 31, I’m still in my Saturn Return², making a lot of the transition of what took place more comforting and understandable.

I’ve questioned life, and have gotten more comfortable with death after witnessing it so intimately. It’s made me get more curious about the world and beyond (and ask why–if I can get a little existential and dark here–in the heck would I desire to stay here?).

I’ve written journal entries about how grateful I am for my new little family orbit that’s formed and hovered closer than ever since mom passed.

Realizing my dad is a widow, and single parent now has rocked my world (okay, pun intended this time. And it fits!).

And it wasn’t only his new identity that disoriented me, but mine as well. I noticed how much my old world shifted when I immediately had stepped into a role that expands into a duality: one where I now feel like my dad’s small child he has to protect and care for, as well as his new familial adult partner who’s all-of-a-sudden thrown into more adult responsibilities and choices and talks and decisions than ever before.

For nearly a decade, I felt like nothing more than functioning arms and legs for my mom… A 30-year-old child that never felt comfortable being called a woman (an adult transition I never felt worthy of or identified with–not because of gender dysphoria reasons, but because I felt stunted by my prioritized duties of putting my mom and her wants and needs first so she could feel as much like herself as possible).

Even so, since 2016 I’ve put in work to better myself in a way that could be viewed as “too alternative” (or “otherworldly”, if we keep with the cute puns), and definitely was never offered up to me by the Christian community that surrounded me. And I wanna revisit a lot of that in-depth, too.

Without that work I’ve put in over the years, I know I wouldn’t be handling or navigating this permanent change quite as well or be as grounded in other areas of my life.

Life’s taken a new shape and I’m excited to see where it goes.

So, I’d love for you to see this newsletter as one where the mirror of your life was broken into big pieces, and scattered across the universe. And we’re on this journey–exploring all over–to discover themes, beliefs, and ways of life outside our comfort zone, so we can put it all back together again.

Maybe even better than before. Because who knows what pieces we’ll find to add to our reflections along the way.

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What comes with supporting/subscribing to Losing Orbit?

Every Wednesday at 8am EST I’ll be releasing a free main newsletter, for certain. Bonus shorter pieces can pop up here and there, and ultimately they’ll be free.

I’ll also be releasing a Monthly Musings piece that summarizes, reflects, and shares the good of each month, the first Monday of the following month. It may expand and shift over time as I figure out how I’d love to format it, and for now, it’s free for all. :)

The only posts (for now) that’ll be placed behind a paywall are ones I find a bit more private or intimate and would prefer a less public audience to view them.

Aside from exclusive posts, paying members also get access to the narrated versions of newsletters where I–the writer here on Losing Orbit–will narrate each of the main posts (and as many of the free bonus posts as well). A locked audio archive of narrations will be available for paying subscribers from here on out, but consider this narration a sampling of what you could listen to as you clean the kitchen or fold laundry. ;)

Not digging the idea of a monthly subscription? No worries! You can also buy me a cup of matcha (a one-time dealio) instead.

I house my Human Design readings on that page as well, so if you have any questions about them, feel free to email me (losingorbit(at)substack(dot)com) or comment below!

I truly appreciate every new subscriber, share, comment, or any interaction you give this newsletter. It means the world to me, as someone who wants to build my life and community around my writing.

Thanks so much for reading (or listening!), and I’ll see you soon.

1. Within a Christian family, I’ve incorporated an intimate practice of tarot and oracle card readings when talking to our Christian God, and I turn to more than just prayer and the Bible when I’m stressed and need actionable help. I truly believe prayer and the Bible can be supplemented with other tools and I’ve been using plenty of them for years to develop more self-awareness and growth.

2. Saturn Return is when your Saturn returns to the place it was when you were born. It happens first around ~27-30 years of age and when it occurs, it’s a time of challenges, growth, and repsonsibility for a new chapter/beginning and end to the way you’ve been living life. If life’s been giving you lessons and challenges to learn, then a Saturn Return can be a time to reflect and see the fruits of that labor.