Soul Fred.

I don't know if you've heard of Jen Fulwiler -- but she's heard of you. Nah, just kidding. She's a writer and comedienne in Texas, mother of six children, a convert from atheism to the Catholic church, and host of a podcast called This Is Jen. She does have a terrific sense of humor, as I think every mom ought to have, especially if they've got a brood like hers to chase around. Early in the lockdowns she put out a schedule for her family:

She had me at Feral Time.

Although she despises the term "momedy" for mom comics, her main natural audience is mothers -- not just Catholic or Christian moms but moms who are obsessed with social media as she is. Thus, her husband, as a manly man from Texas, was unable to understand why she would bother to create a Web site that would give you a word of the year. 

The Word of the Year generator was intended to give you a random word that would be a mantra for the near future -- maybe spark something inside the user to meditate on. Like: 

Back in December I was listening to her podcast when I heard her and her husband talking about it. I figured, Okay, I'll try it, see what pops up. The word I got was Soul.

I must confess that did make me think. I felt like I'd been running on fumes throughout 2020; in fact, could not remember the last time I had felt a sense of purpose beyond "Don't let the house cave in" and "Don't let the dogs have feral hour." I hated to admit it, but Jen's Jen-erator (ha!) made me realize that I needed to think of ways to care for my soul. This is not the kind of thing most guys I know think about, but it's a real issue. We spend all our time being responsible, but if we're getting empty inside, something is going to give.

So thanks, Jen, for getting me to think about something worth thinking about. I hope I can make some progress on this for 2021. Not looking good so far, but it's only February.

And I take back all the mean things I was thinking about your self-help book, Your Blue Flame. This seemed to me to be the kind of pep-talky "Believe in yourself and your dreams" that made me lash out at poor ol' Jeff Lynne a few years ago. I feared it might be an ace away from that diabolical Prosperity Christianity. Now I suspect it may be useful, not shallow, and I congratulate you on your own success.