Reading · The Commonplace

This summer there have been a fair number of super-short 5QTs due to real-life circumstances, and this one is no different—as you’re reading this, I’m on the road with our middle guy, taking him to his first semester of college. Everyone says it, but that’s because it’s true: it really does go by so dang fast. I cannot believe we are actually here. It’s just as mind-blowing the second time around. How do I have two post-high school kids now? 👵

I’ll have deeper thoughts here soon, but in the meantime, we gotta get this young man set up in his dorm, fly through a whirlwind weekend of “Disorientation” (that’s what they call freshman orientation at his university), and then the parents are gently shown the door after Sunday brunch. 🥺

I’m grateful both his siblings are able to come up for the day to see him settled in for this big life milestone... I actually really do love this parenting stage with young adults.

1. A few days ago I shared some thoughts after a 24-hour personal getaway, with the revelatory epiphany from God to just do the things I know to do: “Those who stop seeking novelty as a means of escaping boredom, and instead embrace the ordinary rhythms that come with a proven track record are the ones who ultimately find the satisfaction they’re looking for. They also don’t wait to feel like doing something before taking action. They just …do the same right-there thing they know to do.”
2. I’m doing St. Michael’s Lent this year, a new (very optional) spiritual discipline for me. It started on August 15, ends on September 29—Michaelmas—and I’m praying this novena (a repeated prayer) throughout. I’m also fasting from certain foods and adding more focused workouts… In some ways it feels like the worst time of year for me to do this (hello, all the things on my current plate), but in many ways that’s exactly why it’s the best time of year for me to do this. So far, it’s helping me remember what matters most, as well as Whose I most am.
3. This letter from Katherine Martinko to her young son couldn’t have landed at a better time (see above, re: my weekend parenting task): “When people invite you to do things, go. You’ll always have more fun trying things than sitting alone at home. And if you have a terrible time, maybe you’ll get a good story out of it. An experience is never wasted if something has been learned from it.”
4. I also appreciated Lane Scott’s recent reflections while wading in the same dadgum pool here: “We’ve given it our best effort, I think, but parents are only granted so many days with their children. …This is of course the terrible reality of motherhood: if you do your job right, you work yourself right out of it.”
5. And finally, I’m fascinated by this Spanish priest who’s helped over 1,200 people find their spouses …using WhatsApp, of all things. Hey, whatever works, I say.