5 Quick Things #315 đ§
keep trudging, keep studying, keep misnaming movies, & keep kids off phones
Hey there,
I normally try to stay out of my way to begin any form of communication, written or oral, with the weather. Not only is it trite and clichĂ©, itâs also boring. Who cares? âŠBut Iâm breaking my rule today because WHAT A WILD WEEK OF WEATHER, eh? At least for many of us in the U.S. This semester I teach an online high school English class with kids from all over North America, and it sounded like every one of us had a freakish dip in temps except for the Floridians (who nonetheless were under a hurricane warning). At the beginning of this week there was frost on the ground and temps in the teens here in Central Texas. Now, todayâs high is 70 degrees. Weather is drunk.1
In the meantime, these random freezes are usually my bat signal to start garden planning, so thatâs on my agenda this weekend! Green beans, zucchini, peppers, herbs, and tomatoes, here I come. And this year, I want to get better at flower gardening â itâs tricky on my little slice of land because where Iâve got lots of direct sun I use for my raised edible beds, yet the areas thatâd be most aesthetically lovely for flowers are almost completely shaded. Anyone have any tips for drought-friendly, shade-friendly flowers in a zone 8 area with 60-80% clay-ish soil? Iâm here for âem.

5 Quick Things âïž
1. In case you missed it, I started the week with some thoughts on being fully where you are, in the life you have and in the life stage youâre in: âHard doesn't equal wrong. Challenges in life aren't a sign that you heard God wrong, or that it's time to do something else, or that you should consider a change in your situation. In fact, the presence of challenges are often signs that youâre exactly where God wants you to be.â Head here to read the rest.
2. My local new-ish friend and fellow parishioner
wrote an essay that was apparently handcrafted just for me and my family, describing pointedly how it feels to be past the novelty of a thing but still fighting the routine thatâs not yet a habit: âItâs true that in some areas of life, we have an option to give up. But with many of our struggles, there is no choice whether or not to continue trekking. And while the steps downhill can make you feel in that moment as though all your past efforts were in vain, the only way to make it all truly meaningless is to stop trying, stop caring, and justâŠstop. ⊠It may take a bit of trudging, one tired step at a time. But as long as youâre going forward, youâll get there eventually.â3. Feeling the itch to grow intellectually in your ordinary life? Especially if youâre a busy mom? Secretly wish you could go back to school but itâs just not the season for you? I love
âs series on Mother Academia, and the latest installment is no exception. Make a plan to study at home! And then connect with other like-minded non-student adults who want to learn, too. Believe me, itâs worth it.4. I really appreciate Jonathan Haidt at
âs work over the past decade-plus studying adolescents and what our culture is doing to themâand I love that heâs channeling a lot of his energy now into shouting from the rooftops the dangers of smartphones in their hands. This was an excellent talk and accompanying notes + outlines.25. And finally, watch first before showing your older teens (language warning), but these misnamed movies are weirdly funny. Homeless Bug Boy, indeed.
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening đ»
Indie Folk for Focus (lovely both for focused work and simply having on in the background)
Quotable đŹ
âAs life-giving as is solitude, so paralyzing and sterilizing is isolation. âŠIsolation is inhuman; for to work in human fashion is to work with the feeling for man, his needs, his greatness, and the solidarity which binds us closely together in a common life.â
-A.G. Sertillanges, O.P. // The Intellectual Life
How do you shelve your books? đ
Boy howdy, are there strong opinions on this one! I particularly like this from a friend of mine who texted this after reading the options (you know who you are): âAhem, where is chronological to trace the consequences of ideas?!â I then mentioned this to my 16-year-old son, who commented that in this scenario, youâd then need to shelve Nazis (such as Heidegger) right after Nietzsche. I passed this idea back to my friend, who then replied, âTell him it gets really difficult when you want to consider the translatorâs time. Is a mid-20th-century translation of Plato to be placed in the BCE (when it was written) OR is the translator too formed by his time and place (best he tries to translate well) and thus the translation must go in the 1950s?!â
All this to say: Because of this conundrum, and for many other reasons, it makes the most sense to shelve alphabetically by author. A second option could be by subject then by author, but then youâd have to shelve Narnia and the Space Trilogy separately from The Abolition of Man and Mere Christianity, and that just doesnât sit right (pun intended).3
Iâm fairly certain Iâm objectively right here. This might be the first time since Iâve started these polls that my answer is in the distant minority.
Randomly: 48.3%
By subject, then author: 30.3%
By appearance: 14.7%
Alphabetically: 5.8%
Dewey decimal: 0.8%
Find this weekâs poll here.
Quick Links đ
The Summer 2024 Pilgrimage: An Update đŹđ·

Our Greece 2024 pilgrimage is officially sold out! You final six folks really went after it this week â Iâm so glad to have you on board (literally, since weâll be on a boat for four days).
Iâve got more upcoming pilgrimages simmering on the back burner, and I canât wait to tell you more soon. In the meantime, I hope to meet each of you on one of these adventures someday!
Question(s) For You to Ponder⊠đ€
In what specific area of study or life do you plan to grow in throughout this winter? How will you do this?
Have a good weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. Eight great examples of prison literature.
Here in Texas weâll most likely get two more sudden freezes, if previous years are any indication, typically in late January and again in mid-February. Weâll see.
Though Iâd go farther to say adolescents donât need smartphones at allâstick with flip phones or flip phone equivalents until theyâre at least 18, when they can then buy a smartphone for themselves if they want.
Plus, where would you put Screwtape Letters?
Have you thought about planting hellebores? They grow well both in my sunny areas and shady areas. They're evergreens and they bloom either in December or February around here. These are the flowers of "white winter roses" fame. https://youtu.be/ynyAksTBfYE
I live in Iowa where it is currently -9 (and will get much colder this weekend) and snowed in yet again, so Iâm not sure my horticulture advice will be helpful, but I love planting nasturtiums. They are jolly and colorful as well as completely edible.
I would recommend you keep amending your soil with compost and maybe a little sand. Soil and souls produce better when enriched.