Hello friends,
My brain is mush as I type this â Iâm misspelling easy words (I even just misspelled âeasyâ the first time I wrote it), Iâm on my second cup of coffee before 8 am, and my leg muscles refuse to move under these covers because YES, Iâm writing this from bed. I know youâre not âsupposed to,â but yesterday was officially the last day of school for me and you know what that means? TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER BREAK. đžđšđ§đĽ Iâm writing from bed.
I still have a few short stories to grade to wrap up the year and then Iâm up to my eyeballs in editing my own book manuscript, and then you better believe Iâm going to float on a body of water and think NO DEEP THOUGHTS for an entire afternoon.
Phew. How are you?

5 Quick Things âď¸
1. New episode of A Drink With a Friend! Routines are going to the grocery store on Tuesday mornings and brushing your teeth twice a day. What, then, are rituals? Seth and I unpack how theyâre different and why they matter, both the big and small. Graduations are necessary, yes, but so are Friday pizza-and-movie nights and praying along those beads.
2. The woman (a âmedia nunâ) featured in this piece is one of my favorite personal Twitter follows. âItâs actually in facing the darkest realities of life that we find light in them.â
3. The light, the composition, the music, the subject matter⌠This is truly both breathtaking and calming.
4. A few years ago I left Israel and the West Bank with more questions than answers about the nuance required to understand the deep history, conflict, and seemingly-eternal tension there. As the recent news breaks my heart for ALL its inhabitants, this piece from a few years ago speaks into the necessary little things that reflect humanityâs needed compassion (etymologically, âto suffer withâ).
5. And finally⌠Iâm not going through night wakings, potty training, or desperation for some adult time away from littles â Iâm going through the grit and grace-growing rite of raising teens. It wonât always be like this, just like quarantine, springâs cool evenings, or complicated pregnancies. Perhaps you need this reminder, too.
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening đ
The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green
Quotable đŹ
âThe object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful.â
â Plato #
From the Community đĄ
If youâre a paying member of The Commonplace, go vote for our summer book club read! Each of the five selections transports us somewhere interesting, are easy to read, and are purported to make us smile.
Thereâs currently a clear frontrunner but itâs still close! Iâll announce the winner next Friday and weâll read in June, ending with a laid-back live book club chat.
Elsewheređ
Question For You to Ponder⌠đ¤
What do you need to stop thinking about doing and move on to simply doing it?
Have a good weekend!
xo, Tsh
p.s. This made me genuinely laugh this morning. The human contact? The wit? The Jim-stare into the camera? All of it, gold.