Summer officially began today, around 4am Eastern Time. It’s Father’s Day.
The days get shorter in the Northern Hemisphere starting now and for the next six months.
Nature’s cycles march onward.
Have I appreciated and reveled in this season so far? I think yes. How ’bout you?

No burning questions or popping epiphanies tonight, friends. Just a wonderful sense of gratitude and contentment at life. Looking, listening, and feeling around me, it’s no wonder.

The family is well overall. No acute or severe health crises, relationships are stable–what more do we need, really? Surviving major challenges and threats in both of these realms makes one appreciate when things are quiet, stable, and well.

Daughter is home, which means I’m spending more time in the ‘woods’ by the house. That means more photos for the blog, more bug bites, and learning about thrips–tiny, kiwi hair-sized bugs that live on the mulberries in the neighborhood.

Daughter and I are also taking a pottery class together–tomorrow will be the third of five classes. I shake my head at the contrast: I last touched clay 26 years ago, before I had kids, over half my life ago. I can’t remember how long I did it, but I was there at all hours of the day and night and produced over 400 pieces. I have about four pots to show for it so far this time, and it’s been harder than I anticipated to recall the skills. Maybe I’ll just have to keep going! We still use many of the bowls I made back in 2000; hoping I can add some nice ones to the collection in 2026.

I’m very proud of the progress I’m making in the gym. 285# barbell hip thrust, 195# trap bar dead lift, and 145# barbell back squat, each for at least four reps, are my favorite accomplishments so far this year. I’m still working toward that one, good, unassisted pull up by Christmas–we shall see! And if not by Christmas or not ever, it’s okay! I can still continue to show up and practice. I finally felt worthy of adding another sticker to my water bottle:

Book writing enters the sixth month of consistent work, wow. What a labor of love, oh my gosh. It’s very much tied to my time at Ethos; my mind is clear and my mood elevated after a challenging workout surrounded by friends. The co-working space is open, bright, and also full of people I love. It’s the perfect setting to do my best reflecting and writing, and insights occur to me on each page that I don’t think would emerge any other way. I wonder if this is why I feel less driven to journal, although jar smile and snail mail writing continue at a regular, rewarding, and joyous pace. There is just something about writing that frees my soul… I wish for everybody to find something in life that feels this great!

What’s got your attention this season, friends? How does the chaos and uncertainty in our world affect you? I reflect on my privilege a lot lately, but don’t feel moved to write deeply about it here… yet. Our perspectives determine our perceptions, which influence or determine our beliefs, and thus our actions and thus our relationships, and thus our lives. So if we wish to live magnanimously, empathetically, generously, informedly, and understandingly, we must broaden our perspectives. Easier said than done, and almost always better with kind and direct guidance from others. Maybe more on this another day.

Life feels smooth and calm at the moment. I know it will not always be this way. So I pay attention and store up the positive energy. When harder times hit later, I will look back and know that I knew it and appreciated it when things were good, and that will hold me up until things are good again. Peace, friends. It’s what I wish for us all.