Every month or so, I share five things that are bringing me joy, taking the pressure off, or just making life more interesting. If you’re questioning the mainstream motherhood script of consuming, rushing, and settling, this series is for you. I hope you find something here that’s useful, relatable, or at least entertaining.
Happy August, dear readers! It’s the hottest time of the year in Southern California, my oldest started first grade last Monday, and my youngest just began her preschool summer break, so it’s still summer but not quite summer and just feels all-around strange.
I like to make seasonal joy lists so I don’t lose sight of what I want for myself and my family throughout the year. It’s more about a vibe than completion, but here’s a look at how my summer list has been going.
Water: I’m still biking to the community pool on the regular for budget-friendly kids’ swim lessons and easy laps for me (it feels like winning when both happen simultaneously). We got in some good beach days, and I even caught some waves on the boogie board, mostly in an effort to impress my 6-year-old.
Style and Beauty: I finally got a new sunhat and started the habit of applying sunscreen to my arms and hands (most days). I’ve had some fun with scarves but still want to experiment more. (The true test: Will I be brave enough to tie one on my head?)
Socializing: We attended exactly one outdoor concert, which also involved a picnic, a few more of which I’ve gotten in thanks to my book club’s preference for meeting in the park when sunsets are late. My husband just secured the permit for our annual-ish block party — big win.
Outdoors: Our windows are open 24/7. I just booked a campsite for September, when the temperatures will have hopefully dipped.
Food: Avocados from our tree have become a daily staple, and my husband made homemade popsicles with our stainless steel molds at least once.
Play: We’re just now catching up on our jump-rope and bike practice (both girls just graduated to new Guardian bikes that are slightly too big) and need to bust out the watercolors ASAP.
Adventure: I got to cycle outside my usual radius on our various summer camp commutes, and we survived a multi-generational trip to Italy!
We just got back from visiting cousins for the second time in their new Colorado hometown at 8,500 feet above sea level, where we did things like drive down a long dirt road to play in a clear river framed by wildflowers under a blue-bird sky. It warmed my heart watching the kids hold hands during hikes, make up trampoline games, and feed the chickens. I’m already dreaming of organizing a family camping trip for next year’s visit. Before leaving town, I picked up some hand-painted cards and handmade shampoo bars and diffusers, all for less than my go-tos from San Diego boutiques.
It’s taken me some time (and help from Conni Jespersen) to find my warm-weather style after living in perpetually chilly San Francisco for over a decade, but each summer in San Diego I like my outfits more. Turns out I can actually love shorts (nothing tight or cut off!) and feel alive when I’m wearing a pop of color. A few looks that have felt good lately:
I can count on my book club to land on an eclectic selection of books, most of which I’d never crack open on my own. Last month we read Strange Houses by Uketsu, a Japanese mystery/horror novella that fortunately wasn’t too high on the scary scale. (I like to sleep.)
On our recent trip, I read Blood on the Tracks by Barbara Nickless after meeting the author in a writing class. It’s a dark thriller set in Colorado (I love how often I accidentally pick up books set in a place I’m visiting) that promptly took over my entire vacation. The scenes read like a movie, and the story kept twisting as it explored combat PTSD in a way I hadn’t encountered. Halfway in, I was already in love with the protagonist.
On our flight home from Rome I watched the film If I Had Legs I'd Kick You starring Rose Byrne, and wow, it was intense. If you made it through a viewing, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I was an American Girl superfan as a kid, saving my weekly $2 allowance for nearly all of 1993 to buy a Samantha doll I spotted in a Pleasant Company catalog on a friend’s kitchen counter. When I found out that my mom kept my dolls, I thought I’d wait until my oldest could read the book series herself before getting them out. But I ended up giving them to her and her sister last month, and since then we’ve been checking out the corresponding books from the library.
This has also been the summer of the Tin Can, a corded landline (powered by wifi) that sits at the bar in our kitchen. My daughter has been getting a kick out of calling her friends to chat and set up playdates and dialing her dad when he’s traveling for work. Eavesdropping on her dishing out the details on her new first-grade classroom and teacher was a highlight of my week.
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