The Mergenthaler Family

As we approach the end of February, the Pennsylvania winter is going strong. Here's a quick picture-filled review of the last couple of months. Christmas was busy and fun. We missed Ricky, who was busy working some overtime as a CNA in the psych clinic to save some money for an engagement ring and other future plans. On Christmas Eve, Karitza gifted our family a delivery of Chinese food from a local restaurant to be consumed with The Christmas Story playing in the background. After dinner, we got on our matching Christmas pajamas and watched Surf's Up. I think we might make it a Christmas Season movie in the future. I forgot how funny it is. We acted out the nativity. One day, our family will experience this tradition without sarcasm or shenanigans. Hudson is everybody's favorite. I spent a lot of time monitoring whose turn it was to hold, play, or feed him. Of course, I am his favorite. (I am not even making that up!) Christmas dinner was delicious, thanks to everybody...

 https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/striving?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Striving - The act or practice of trying hard to do, reach, or achieve something; vigorous effort. Striving is an innate quality that, at its most basic, keeps you alive. As you develop, learn more about the world around you, and gain skills beyond pure reflex, your striving develops to accommodate a sense of purpose and fulfillment beyond survival. This vigorous effort is driven by two questions: What do you need/want? How will you get it? Striving seems to be closely connected to a sense of agency. You won’t believe the rabbit hole I fell into this morning researching how scientists define a sense of agency. If you want to nerd out, there’s this article:  https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2020/1/niaa019/5890345 . For this letter, let’s say that when a person believes their actions will have the intended consequence, they’re more likely to act. If it’s not obvious t...