5 Quick Things #394 ❄️

the bleak midwinter, offices in life, squirmy boys, & indie voices

Jan 16, 2026

Hi there,

Holy hand grenade, Sir Galahad, has this been a busy week! No complaints, as always, but the school year started back up which meant so did my teaching, I had a meeting with my editor to talk shop on my book—all good changes ahead but they definitely involve a lot of work, and of course, wedding planning is full steam ahead with four months to go! Did you know it’s expensive to host a wedding these days? Boy howdy. Even the most frugal among us (🙋‍♀️) have costs they can’t get around, and man oh man does the Wedding Industry™ want to take you for a ride. We’ve got our heads and budget about us, thankfully, and I’m super grateful my daughter is the opposite of a Bridezilla with her tastes and requirements (she barely has any of the latter). But still… it’s been quite the week!

*Winter Landscape with Bird-trap*, by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1631) #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. Oh look, it’s me every single winter post-holidays. In all seriousness, though, my pal Autumn Kern is spot-on with her recommendation for those of us who question mid-school year every idea we had in the summer about homeschooling being a smart move: “Caring for yourself as a person—finite and eternal—is usually pretty obvious: feed the body, mind, and soul that for which it was made. It’s the overflow of Too Many Things or the pain of Not The Right Things that brings us to the bleak midwinter. Choosing to limit oneself, in quantity and quality, in the Age of Possibility and Opportunity is our generation’s work.”
2. I’ve listened to exactly fifteen minutes of this three-plus hour conversation, but if I see Brant Pitre, I stop what I’m doing and I listen. I’ve benefitted so much from at least three of his books, I have no doubt that this latest Pints episode with him will almost certainly be a banger (here it is in video if that’s your cup of tea).
3. I yes’d and amen’d my way through Joy Marie Clarkson ☀️’s thoughts on not everyone being everything—both regarding current events and our modern culture’s strange insistence on commenting as though everyone needs to hear all our thoughts, but also in regards to the publishing industry in general (and the Christian one in particular). “We all have offices in life, people to whom we are accountable, relationships that constrain and motivate us. But we are not all, and do not need to be, everything. And I think there is something important in realising and accepting that.”
4. Speaking of publishing, Ted Gioia’s thoughts are somewhat niche here, but he’s spot-on in noticing what the publishing world publishes and why (as well as why indie voices matter so much more these days)—this matters even if you’re a reader and not necessarily a writer: “Don’t think for one second that we don’t need independent writers. The forces of conformity and centralization of power are stronger now than ever. Books have always been our safeguard in such troubled times.”
5. And finally, from Leila Marie Lawler: boys need to move a lot. Yes, yes, yes. “Whatever your circumstances, if you want to feel less oppressed by your boys, you are going to have to figure out how to get them physically exhausted and your lawn might have to be sacrificed to this end.”

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

The Simple Path to Wealth, by JL Collins (a re-read, but it’s been awhile, and it was a good kick-in-the-pants reminder)

Quotable 💬

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

-Marcus Aurelius

What do you like most about January? ⛄️

This month sometimes gets a bad rap, but I enjoy it—both because it’s the start of a new year and because it’s back to some semblance of ordinary life. Lent will be here before we know it, so for now, I’m enjoying these weeks for what they are (and am grateful for the Texas sun painting them).

Back to some semblance of ordinary life: 45.5%
A blank slate for the year ahead: 36.6%
Cold outdoor temps: 15.7%
Sportsball: 2.2%

Find the next poll here.

Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

This summer’s family-friendly pilgrimage is the historic Highlands of Scotland — we’ll explore the Isle of Skye, attend the Highland Games, wander through castles and farmland, and more. I’d love you to join me and my family!