5 Quick Things #338 π
wisdom from my kid, tallow lotion, Michaelmas, & 10 years since #WorldwideOx!
Hey there,
A few weeks ago, the ten-year anniversary of the start of our familyβs school year around the world quietly passed, and not a day has gone by in that decade where I donβt think about that weird, wild year at least once. When we started the kids were ages nine, six, and four, purposely chosen for that time because they were old enough to carry backpacks and not wear diapers yet young enough to not be too terribly rooted in a home base with friendships and activities. Both mine and Kyleβs work were location independent and we were already homeschooling, which meant all five of us could relatively feasibly take our lives on the road and keep on keepinβ on in some capacity, no matter where we were.
For five years weβd saved up enough cash for the long-haul plane tickets, yet beyond that, the bulk of that era of travel wasnβt any more expensive than just living at home in one place. Weβd need to eat, pay rent or mortgage, and use transportation regardless, and all the βextrasβ of home βΒ kid activities, outings out, spending time with other people βΒ were natively built in to the system of a year of travel. Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, hot air ballooning over the Masai Mara in Kenya, and renting an apartment in Rome with family friends also doing a wild season of family travel equaled (okay, letβs be honest: surpassed) any sort of year at home taking ballet classes or eating out for date nights.
30 countries, one backpack each. I miss that year, and Iβd do it again in a heartbeat.1
5 Quick Things βοΈ
1. One surprising takeaway from that year of living out of a backpack: I absolutely loved having a super-limited wardrobe. I thought Iβd get sick of it, but when we returned and rolled up our storage unit door, I was annoyed at all the stuff βΒ including my boxes of clothes βΒ and wouldnβt have minded if it all caught fire while we were gone (and we were already fairly minimalist). I averaged roughly three shirts, two bottoms, two pairs of shoes, and a few accessories. I jettisoned some stuff along the way (thrift stores are everywhere), picked up other things when the weather shifted, and regretted nothing. To this day, I sometimes like to play the mental game of What Would I Pack If I Were Going On That Trip Tomorrow.
2.Β Another key takeaway: Ordinary life is often better than the rare highlights. We purposely curated our yearβs activities to include both big adventures and lots of down time in-between, and sure enough, for years afterwards when weβd ask the kids for a family memory from that school year, theyβd answer the time we housesat for friends for six weeks in Australia and the house had a backyard trampoline, or when we stayed for a month in a guesthouse in southern France βΒ a cottage nestled in an olive oil farm βΒ and they had plenty of green space to run wild and create a little Terabithia secret from the adults, or the guesthouses in Singapore or Uganda because that had βΒ get this βΒ BUNK BEDS. Not the Great Wall in China, the Southern Alps of New Zealand (aka the Misty Mountains), or the ancient narrow covered alleys of the old city of Fez in Morocco. Cool stuff, like pepperoni pizza in Thailand.
3. This year my daughter (hi, kiddo! I know youβre a subscriber) is the editorial assistant for her universityβs newspaper, and this week her first editorial debuted. I love that her theme is essentially a theme weβve talked about as a family for years: βIf thereβs one thing Iβve learned from life and the wise people in it, itβs that itβs easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of acting.β
4. This week I made homemade tallow lotion and I am in LOVE. Iβd heard for several years now that itβs a game-changer, but itβs only been recently that Iβve had a big olβ tub of tallow with which to experiment. I conglomerated several recipes from the internet to make my ownβ¦ About 16 ounces of melted and cooled tallow + two tablespoons of vitamin E oil, stirred together and cooled until relatively hardened in the fridge. I then emptied it into the mixer, added some essential oils, and whisked until my preferred consistency of fluffy and smooth. DONE. A tiny bit goes a long way, so according to my super-scientific eyeballing of my jam jar full of lotion, Iβve got enough to last until Easter.
5. And finallyβ¦ This past Sunday was Michaelmas, or St. Michael the Archangelβs feast day on the liturgical calendar. Iβve long had an affinity for him (even before becoming Catholic), and Iβm routinely bummed that his feast day falls during a particularly busy time of year for me. Nonetheless, I love reading about the tradition of Michaelmas, particularly its agrarian ties, and I knew
wouldnβt let me down βΒ here she unpacks the history, her personal reflections on the season, and of course, downloadable art for those of us who subscribe. I love her talent: βAnd so, I forge on with these old Michaelmas traditions, because they train my heart along a trellis of truth, something I can lean on in faith whether I can conjure the emotions or not.β
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening π
Every Moment Holy, Vol. III: The Work of the People, compiled by Douglas McKelvey
Quotable π¬
βI am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.β
β Mary Anne Radmacher
Rhine River 2025 βοΈ
Thereβs already 30+ folks already signed up for next summerβs pilgrimage and itβll probably fill fast! If youβre hesitating, nowβs the time to go and secure your spot as we float down the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Zurich in our own boat, discussing everyday liturgy, creating our Rules of Life, and more.
Iβd love you to join! These pilgrimages, without question, are the highlight of my year. I love spending this time with you.
Whatβs your favorite thing about fall? π
My answer is definitely the drop in tempsβ¦ If we had a semblance of changing leaf colors Iβd probably answer with the majority (it was definitely the highlight of my year when we lived in Oregon). Theyβll turn a little bit yellow around here come Thanksgiving time, and Iβll take it. In the meantime, Iβm just thrilled the highs wonβt be in the 90s next week.
The changing color of leaves: 46%
The drop in temperature: 38.9%
Pumpkin-spice (and other fall-specific) treats: 7%
All the upcoming holidays on the way: 5.5%
Football and other fall-specific sportsballs: 2.6%
Find next weekβs poll here.
Quick Links π
π Read my books
Question(s) For You to Ponderβ¦ π€
Hereβs an interesting question from author Morgan Housel (HT from James Clear): βWhose life do I admire that is secretly miserable?β β¦What might the answer to this say about what really matters?
Have a great weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. - Japanese bluegrass? β¦Iβm here for this.
I wrote a book about it, if youβre curious!
What a thrill it must be to see your daughter spreading her wings, with wisdom in her heart and a pen in her hand ...
Tsh, how's it going with the Wisephone/Lightphone? (I can't recall which one you ordered.) I would love to hear an update as moving to a dumb phone is something I've been mulling over for a couple of years.