5 Quick Things #286 🍊

romance, humility, butlers, & barbeque

May 26, 2023

Hi there,

We've had a week of summer break and the public schools around here get out today, so I’m guessing you're in (or nearly in) this season of transition as well. I frequently feel like the first full week of no school is the "first pancake" of the break — a bit messy, not-quite-right, a warm-up to the rest of the batch. This week we slept in, read, had more screen time than usual, hung out with friends, worked, and got over being sick. It's totally and completely fine, but I am eager to start a new routine next week. Bring on the summer!

Because I am a huge nerd while simultaneously getting over a cold, a few days ago I binge-listened to this class, because why not? I learned a ton (i.e., I now know the difference between Cato the Elder and Cato the Younger). …Resources like this are when the internet truly shines, I say.

And of course, Tate graduated last weekend! 🙌😭 I was more emotional than I thought I'd be, but it was also a delightfully fun day, full of taco trucks and good friends. I'm so grateful for the many folks around in her life who spur her on to growth and goodness.

I hope you've had just the sort of week you've needed.

*Still Life with Oranges*, by Paul Gauguin (1881) #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. As is being talked about everywhere the past few days, protestant pastor Tim Keller recently died. I never really had much connection to his work (not intentionally; God simply never put it in my path), but I really appreciated this tribute from Katelyn Beaty, particularly her five signs of humility (especially #4!). I’m so, so averse to Celebrity Christianity™️ that the more ordinary the leader, the more I tend to listen to them. Sounds like I might like Keller’s work.
2. If discipline is “the ability to prioritize the needs of your future self ahead of your own,” then one way to frame your mindset is to think of yourself as your own butler. I love this idea.
3. “He ushered me into a romance with God that I had quite forgotten existed. He handed me back my lost beauty—he gave me back to the loving arms of poetry. I owe him much that I cannot repay. He would never ask that it be otherwise.” What a lovely, fairy tale-ish story and interview.
4. Do we need to garden in an age of grocery stores aplenty? I’d argue yes. This short piece explains well why gardening is necessary (not simply ‘good’) for our souls, minds, and bodies.
5. And finally, Brits try Texas BBQ for the first time. The place they visited is just a few minutes away from me, and I couldn’t stop grinning goofily as I watched their gustationary lives change.

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📺

Truly, a slew of these free online classes!

Quotable 💬

“I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls. From out of the caves of evening that swing between the strong-limbed Earth and the tracery of stars, I summon Aristotle and Aurelius, and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn nor condescension. So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the veil.”

— W.E.B. DuBois #

Gratitude 🙏

Like some sort of clockwork magic, reading y’all’s gratitude lists never fails to boost my spirits. If you’re a subscriber and you haven’t yet, pop over and share yours, then read a few other lists — I guarantee it’ll lift your mood:

…And if you’d like to participate but haven’t yet upgraded your subscription, we’d love to have you! All are welcome.

Have you gone to a high school reunion of yours? 🎓

I'm firmly in the last group here. I went to my ten-year reunion and I was so underwhelmed, I didn't bother with my 20-year (although I heard it was better). At ten years, people are still trying to impress each other and the same people who got drunk at prom are the people who get drunk at reunions. Plus, my graduating class was something like 800 people and I was friends with maybe ten of them. If I wanted to keep up with them, I already did. But cheers to those of you who have no regrets in this department!