5 Quick Things #239 🪴
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5 Quick Things #239 🪴
sprouting trees, 50 states, less stuff, & the universal longing for beauty
Hello,
I was just telling Kyle, bleary-eyed as I poured my cup of coffee, that this morning it felt like my body had forgotten how to move. My brain had woken up, but it was like my arms and legs lost the memo on how to do what they’re supposed to do to propel me out of bed... Pretty sure I’m exhausted because we finally, finally finished the school year yesterday with our annual Cardboard Boat Regatta! And while it was super fun, I was put-a-fork-in-me DONE by the afternoon. 😵 Fellow teachers, tutors, mentors, and homeschool parents: I raise a glass to you in solidarity. 🥃
Tonight I’m joining some friends for Frinner! A group of us who’ve known each other forever — but who don’t see each other nearly enough for living in the same area — made a commitment in 2022 to go out to dinner every month to ensure we stay connected. So, it’s on the calendar: every Fourth Friday we do dinner with Friends. Frinner. Can’t wait.
5 Quick Things ☕️
1. 👉 New episode of A Drink With a Friend! 👈 May is always nuts. When life feels flustered, it's grounding to remember the little, ordinary things adding beauty to our days. Seth and I each share what we’re currently reading, watching, and listening to that are bringing us more joy and insight. These are always some of my favorite chats!
2. A beautifully-written essay on why we all hunger for beauty: “Real beauty draws us up and out of ourselves; it connects us to realities that can’t be commodified. It re-sacralizes the world, even if only for a moment. And in doing that, it indicts the vulgarity and disorder of contemporary life.”
3. Now that summer’s here, I’m eager to get my hands on our stuff and do some serious decluttering I’ve been waiting on doing until the school year ended. Here’s a really good, go-to, practical step-by-step on how to have less stuff.
4. This is fun: a playlist including all 50 states. I haven’t listened to it yet but plan to this weekend!
5. And finally, just in case you need it, here’s a one-year time lapse video of a mango tree sprouting from a seed. Time lapses are amazing. Plants are really amazing.
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📻
Cultivating Catholic Feminism, a free, beautifully-produced video series from Abigail Favale.
(I mention this👆 in this week’s podcast episode — truly, it’s been eye-opening and encouraging. I think it’s a must-watch, even if you’re not Catholic; even if you’re not quite sure what to think of the topic.)
Quotable 💬
“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”
— Dorothy Day #
Elsewhere 📍
Quick Links 🔗
Italy! 🇮🇹
Don’t forget: For the month of May, you’ll get $250 off your registration for our trip to Tuscany if you sign up by the end of the month! It’s coming soon and you don’t want to miss it — I’d love to have you there. All are welcome.
Also, p.s. — A number of you have written me with specific questions about this trip. I see your email! I promise I do. May is the busiest month of the year for me, yet now that the school year has finished, I hope to reply to you asap. Thanks for your grace.
Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔
If you had infinite time and money, what in your life would you keep exactly the same?
Have a great weekend,
Tsh
p.s. After watching this on Tuesday, the song has been in my head the rest of the week. You’ve been warned. (But it still made me laugh.)