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5 Quick Things #306 π
magnanimity, third places, walks in the woods, & story soups
Hey there,
Yesterday morning, our oldest daughter (whoβs a thousand miles away for college) texted her dad to tell him that she just smelled sawdust and it made her think of him. Kyle and I then got to wondering why smells do thisβwhatβs up with our olfactory memory networksβwhy do scents lead to memories? Thereβs a certain mix of rose perfume and mildew that takes me straight to my grandparentsβ house when I was a kid, the blend of coffee and maple syrup sends me to the 24-hour diner-style restaurant where I worked for much of the late 90s, and a concoction of exhaust and cigarette smoke instantly transports me to Russia on my first overseas trip as a fifteen-year-old (which is strange, because Iβve smelled that blend many more times in many other countriesβbut I guess it was the first that my brain decided to hold onto).
I know thereβs a science to all this, but Iβm more interested in the poetics. Scientism is a common belief in our post-Enlightenment culture, but thereβs plenty that science canβt explain: what is love, how certain notes in songs give us the shivers, why Shakespeare is so good, and yesβthe beauty of scents as portkeys to our past. Mere mortals are we, but simple things like our daughterβs morning text remind me that we are, indeed, so much more than the sum of our parts.

5 Quick Things βοΈ
1.Β New episode of A Drink With a Friend! Third places are what they sound like: theyβre not your home, and theyβre not your workplaceβtheyβre the third place where you hang out (think Cheers). Seth and I chat about our third places, why they matter to neighborhoods and communities, and what to do if you havenβt yet found your third place (hint: they canβt be digital).
2. In case you missed it, earlier this week I shared eleven great βfamilyβ films. And I truly mean those quotes around the word familyβonly one on the list could officially be called for-the-family, but in a household with teens, we find itβs more important to share good storytelling over subpar art that moralizes. What would you add?
3. Itβs so easy to overlook the small things, to remember that those quotidian joys really are the big things of lifeβ¦
shared some beautiful and honest words about the simple joys of homeschooling adolescents: βI have decided to choose walks in the woods over extra teaching commitments. No new college thesis students; no homeschool co-ops. Just the four kids and me and whatever we come up with together. Yesterday it was Charlemagne. Today it was bubbles and ice. I do not have to force teaching into my life in order for it to happenβjust being together with my children, in the world, is proving to be enough.β4.Β Weβre all called to greatnessβbut what does that mean? It definitely doesnβt mean βliving a big story,β like so many gurus preach at us. Lately Iβve been thinking a lot about the virtue of magnanimity, so this recent episode of Godsplaining was good timing (plus, Iβll listen to anything with Fr. Pine).
5. And finally, Tolkienβs special soup recipe. I love this reflection from
for . β¦Story as soup.
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening π»
My Peppy Work playlist
Quotable π¬
βIt is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.β
- J.R.R. Tolkien
Would you rather do the laundry or the dishes? ππ½
Even though there are a great many things Iβd rather do than either of these tasks, Iβm on Team Laundry as well. Though I do agree that water is therapeutic, thereβs something about the mindless task of foldingβespecially while listening to something goodβthat makes me feel like Iβve Done a Thing.
Laundry: 63.9%
Dishes: 36.1%

Find this weekβs poll here.
Advent Countdown: 23 Days! β¨
Itβs hard to believe, but Advent is just a few weeks away. Itβs the official start of the liturgical calendar, making it a βnew yearβ of sortsβ¦ Itβs quite possibly my favorite season of the entire calendar.
Here are two quick and easy things you can do now so that your future self thanks you:
Order your copy of my book, Shadow & Light: A Journey Into Advent, if you donβt yet have it. Itβs the open-and-go devotional I wrote when I couldnβt find the right one for our family (I often say itβs βa devotional for people who donβt like devotionalsβ).
Register for the upcoming webinar called Sacred Stillness, all about AdventβIβll be speaking, along with a few other fine folks! Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 2, from 1-3 pm EST. Should be a good one!
Quick Links π
π¬π· Join Me in Greece: June 20-30, 2024 β weβre now at 36 participants!

Question(s) For You to Ponderβ¦ π€
What do I have right now that, five years ago, I only dreamed about having?
Have a great weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. Hereβs the best album that came out when I was 16 (β¦I really do miss the 90s, at least musically). Whatβs yours?
5 Quick Things #306 π
I love this week's "question to ponder." So much has developed in my life in the last two years...so many things are suddenly coming to fruition. I have been really blessed! The #1 thing is probably that my dissertation is actually finally becoming a book...I had really, truly given up on that!
Thanks for the kind mention of "Winter Wonder," too.
The smell of sawdust reminds me of my own dad. He was always doing small carpentry. He even built the pulpit at the church he pastored for the last 31 years of his ministry career, before retiring.
Another portkey smell (I love that phrase, by the way) is Wind Song perfume, which I actually hate the smell of (super acrid and repulsive). But there were so many old ladies in church who wore it when I was growing up (heck, they still do), that it instantly takes me back to those old-time Pentecostal churches with wooden pews and a "y'all come" choir and dinner on the grounds at least once a month. Those old ladies were always wanting to hug me, and then the smell of that perfume would get on me. Yuck. And also precious.