Dear Home Visiting Champions,

While we won’t be gathering virtually this month for Fuel Up & Check-In, I still wanted to create space for you.

This month’s theme, Fueling with Joy, felt especially important.

As home visitors, nurses, parent educators, supervisors, and support professionals, we spend so much of our time supporting others through hard moments, difficult conversations, stressful seasons, and life’s unexpected challenges. And while that work is incredibly meaningful, sometimes we become so focused on helping others carry heavy things that we forget to create room for lightness ourselves.

So this month, I want to invite you to do something a little different.

Pause.

Breathe.

Smile if you can.

And remember that joy is not something reserved only for vacations, milestones, or when life finally slows down. Sometimes joy looks like laughing with coworkers, blasting your favorite song in the car, drinking your coffee while it’s still hot, or simply noticing something good in an otherwise ordinary day.

Consider this email your Fuel Up this month...not something to quickly skim through, but an invitation to intentionally create space for yourself.

Because joy isn’t extra.

It’s fuel too!

Before we jump into our reset activity, I want to invite you to pause and spend a few minutes with this short video.

As you watch, try not to think about what joy should look like.

Instead, ask yourself:



• What does joy actually mean to me?
• When was the last time I genuinely felt joyful?
• What small moments, people, places, or experiences tend to bring that feeling out?

Sometimes joy feels like something big we have to chase. But more often, joy lives in the small moments.

As you look through the ideas above, take a moment to reflect:

• Which of these already exists in my life?
• Which one feels most challenging for me right now?
• What is one small thing I could intentionally do this week to create more joy in my daily routine?

Take a few minutes to journal, jot down notes, or simply sit with your thoughts.

Remember: Joy does not have to be loud, expensive, productive, or perfect. Sometimes joy is simply paying attention.

As we wrap up this month’s Fuel Up, my hope for you is simple:

I hope you find something this week that makes you pause and smile.

I hope you allow yourself to laugh a little louder, breathe a little deeper, and notice the small moments that often get overlooked in the busyness of caring for others.

And on the days when joy feels hard to find, I hope you remember this:

You do not have to create joy every day.

You do not have to force joy.

You do not have to earn joy.

Sometimes joy is simply allowing yourself to notice what is already there.

Thank you for the work you do each day to support Delaware’s children, families, and communities. The work is meaningful. The work is hard. And so are you!

Until next month…

Take care of yourself too.

Asaiah Beaman Fisher

Home Visiting Training & Support Coordinator

Prevent Child Abuse Delaware