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5 Quick Things #230 🚶

real things, seven virtues, ordinary walks, & inherited cows

Tsh Oxenreider

Mar 11, 2022

Hey there,

Last night we held our school’s exhibition night for session 3, an event when a few classes demonstrate via project what they’ve been learning. My Leadership 2 class, for juniors and seniors, have been learning all year how to create a podcast, and last night they did a live show for the parents. It went so well and I’m so proud of them! And I’m so very tired. 😴 After grading a stack of essays and filling out student evaluations, I’ll officially be on Spring Break — and after a very full few months of teaching + new book release season, I am more than ready for a long spring’s nap (that’s a thing, right?). Cue all the fanfare! 🎉

I hope you’re finding little tidbits of goodness in your life these days, no matter the circumstance: a good book you’re absorbed in, a lovely brand of coffee or tea you’ve found at your store or cafe, a sturdy pair of shoes, a new-found bloom in the sidewalk crack on your daily walk. Small delights are everywhere if we dare to look. How often I need the reminder.

Sun on Prospect Street, by Edward Hopper (1934) #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. 👉 New episode of A Drink With a Friend! 👈 We’ve all heard of the seven deadly sins, but what good does it do to think about them in our modern, well-intentioned lives? Maybe more to the point — why does contemplating about how we fall short bring us hope? It’s because of their corresponding virtues. Seth and I talk about what this looks like in our own lives.
2. “The key to sticking with a habit is working it into a routine you love.” …I think I agree. Some solid tips on solidifying good habits through routines.
3. “My books are lent to me for a while; I am their caretaker, their steward, not really their owner. Even the ones I have most deeply loved, a love marked with many notes and queries, I will someday be parted from.” A good perspective on why it might be good to still have real things in an age of everything digital.
4. A beautiful essay about legacy, be it from cattle or work ethic. Or both.
5. And finally, if you need to travel via armchair today, I suggest here. And then take one of your own, be it from your own city, suburbs, or ordinary wherever.

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

The Madness of Crowds, by Louise Penny (moving right along to the latest)

Quotable 💬

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was.”

— Ransom Riggs #

Quick Links 🔗

Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔

What are three tiny, ordinary things you’re grateful for today?

Have a great weekend,

Tsh

p.s. A good illustration for number 3, above.