Currently | Summer 2025
As I write this intro, I’m sitting at my office desk, watching the sky turn dark, promising a good thunderstorm. I just signed out of a two-hour morning writing session on Zoom with my Shut Up & Write pals, and I’m feeling tired but inspired. Tired, because the temp is close to 90°F with high humidity, and my body doesn’t do well in heat. Summer just officially started, but I’m already done with it.
I often joke with Frank that I want to move to Svalbard, where the summer temperature rarely reaches 50°F. We’ve been watching Cecilia Blomdahl’s videos of her life on the tiny Arctic island with her partner, Christoffer, and their dog, Grim, and fantasizing about what it would be like to live far away from everything we know. My chronic pain would be a lot less intense, for sure, and I would love looking up to see the Northern Lights from just outside my door. Seriously, watch her videos from Polar Night, because they are beautiful.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to this summer.
Loving - the new bedding we bought two weeks ago. So comfy.
Eating - fresh summer produce and these cheese puffs from Trader Joe’s.
Working - up the nerve to write about a topic that’s difficult to share.
Noticing - the days are getting a little shorter. Autumn is coming.
Picturing - the day when I finally learn to manage my illness without burning out. (Sarcasm there …)
Collecting - notebooks and bullet journals.
Wanting - a pain-free day. They are hard to come by lately.
Honoring - the lives lost in the devastating Texas floods. [Donate: Kerr County Flood Relief Fund, World Central Kitchen, or Kerrville Pets Alive]
Anticipating - a rainy week, which means lots of work from bed.
Planning - meals for the month. A big dry-erase calendar on the fridge has been the best tool.
Following - more writers and creators, and fewer people who make me feel bad about myself. (Nobody is worth your peace.)
Accepting - my limitations, as much as I hate to admit it.
Making - cupcakes with mocha-flavored cream cheese icing for Frank’s birthday.
Smelling - summer humidity. Yuck!
Getting - some notes together for some essays about chronic illness for my new Substack - coming soon!
Obsessing - over Instagram videos of personal chefs working in the Hamptons this summer.
Wearing - only comfortable clothes these days and purging my closet of anything that doesn’t fit or makes me feel less like me.
Listening - to podcasts that I need to catch up on.
Consuming - Liquid IV by the gallon … not quite, but close.
Reconnecting - with my love of books this year. (See my last blog post about why.)
Watching - more films in the theater this summer. So far this season: Thunderbolts, MI 8: The Final Reckoning, and F1. Loved them all!
Wondering - how many hours until 2029 Inauguration Day? (I could do the math, but my head hurts.)
Feeling - achy but hopeful for a break soon.
Releasing - unrealistically high expectations.
Scheduling - reminders for pretty much everything these days.
Organizing - the closets in my home. I’m in a mood to purge and tidy.
Reading - in three different formats: physical book, Kindle, and audiobook.
Taking - a break to cook dinner.
Craving - salty foods and soup.
Investing - in accessible kitchen tools. First up, silicone-bottomed ice molds.
Appreciating - my partner and everything he does for me when I’m unwell.
Sending - love to my late brother, who would have been turning 39 this month. Miss him.
Enjoying - building our game arsenal and having a weekly game night. Next on the docket: Othello.
Going - deep in my journaling practice. Shadow work is not for the faint of heart.
Playing - around with words.
Encouraging - myself to relax, but you know me …
Finding - white noise to be soothing.
Spending - lots of time with my kitties, who are getting older. I don’t want to miss a moment with them.
Wishing - for more time in the day.
Thinking - about what to write next.
