5 Quick Things #368 ✂️

self-made haircuts, papal readings, daily uniforms, & strong marriages

Hey there,

Phew… I’m still in the thick of grading (anyone want to read a ton of high school essays?), but the last day of classes was this past week, which means I’m basically DONE with the school year. Woot! 🍾 And summer is about to commence. Let me tell you, this was quite possibly the busiest nine of months of my life in recent memory. Starting a brand-new co-op with 92 new students is no joke… I’m super glad I did it, and clearly we met a felt need — but put a fork in me because I am DONE. 😮‍💨

I’d like to say it’s time for a lazy afternoon on the lake with a drink in hand, and maybe there is some time for a bit of that in the next few weeks, but I’m pretty much hitting the ground running now with pilgrimage prep — we head out to Amsterdam in about two weeks! Looking forward to finally connecting with the 67 of you coming along for the ride.

Summer Morning on the Oise, by Charles-Francois Daubigny (1869) #

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5 Quick Things ☕️

1. New episode of A Drink With a Friend! For the penultimate episode of the season, I chat with my in-real-life local friend Rick Reynolds, whom I first got to know on one of my pilgrimages (he and his wife have since been on three with me!). Rick is a marriage therapist specializing in infidelity, so we get into what really holds marriages together, why community matters so much to ALL of us, what it means to affair-proof your relationship, how to heal from betrayals, and where hope is truly found in all of it. (Sounds like a potential downer, but it's actually a super encouraging conversation!)

2. Along with getting some house stuff done, this weekend I’m giving myself a hair trim. I haven’t gone to a salon in years — not because I don’t enjoy the experience, but because it costs so much money and I still haven’t found anyone I really trust with my hair — and because my current hairstyle is a very simple long-with-a-few-layers, it’s pretty easy to do myself. I start with this method and then add a few layers via this, et voila: done. For free.

3. Intrigued by the idea that Pope Leo XIV chose his name largely as a nod to Pope Leo XIII from the late 19th century? Here’s a great 30-day reading plan for XIII’s most notable encyclicals, which estimates a reading time of about 30 minutes per day. And here they all are on the Vatican’s website (which, yes, needs to be updated from circa 1997 — maybe the Holy Father can get a young intern on that, stat).

4. The older I get, the more I find myself unintentionally gravitating toward seasonal uniforms. Since the weather’s warmed up around here, I’ve basically worn one of the same three pairs of shorts with one of the same three sleeveless shirts, again and again on repeat. It reminds me of our family’s trip around the world, when we lived out of backpacks and I surprised myself by loving the super-limited wardrobe far more than I thought I would. …Makes me wonder, as I often do, whether I should get rid of 90% of the t-shirts in my drawer.

5. And finally, how to make the most out of a trip to the art museum. Tuck this away if you’ve got this in your summer travel plans.

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Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📺

The House of David (literally just one episode in, but so far I like what I’ve seen)

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Quotable 💬

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

― Antoine de Saint Exúpery

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If you were forced to travel in time, in which direction would you go? ⏳

I would absolutely, positively choose the past — I don’t want to know the future. Now, the bigger question is: when in the past? The obvious Sunday school answer is “in the Jesus times,” which would undoubtedly be cool. But also: inventions? Foundings of countries? Particular fashion trends? The options are endless.

• The past: 83%

• The future: 17%

Find next week’s poll here.

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Our Summer Pilgrimage: June 3-15, 2025! 🎒

This is the last week to sign up, and we’d love to have you join us — learn more here.

Amsterdam (2013), by Henrieta Maneva #

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Quick Links 🔗

• 📐Create your own Rule of Life

• 🎧 Listen to A Drink With a Friend

• 📖 Read my books

• 🛶 Join me along the Rhine River: Summer 2025!

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Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔

Which distractions in your life have become disguised as priorities?¹

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Have a great weekend,

- Tsh

p.s. - If I sits, I fits.

1. A great question from James Clear’s newsletter.