Things continue to feel heavy in the world. I read yesterday that more Palestinian children were killed in 1 week than Ukrainian children were killed in 1 year… and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that. I’m trying to find joys in everyday life (although then I feel guilty that I have those joys while others are suffering). It’s hard to be a sensitive person—who’s with me?
Quote of the week:
“Every moment there are a million miracles happening around you:
a flower blossoming, a bird tweeting,
a bee humming, a raindrop falling,
a snowflake wafting along
the clear evening air.
There is magic everywhere.
If you learn how to live it,
life is nothing short of a daily miracle.”
–Yoga teacher and spiritual leader Sadhguru
What I’m reading:
I finished Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and enjoyed it! I’m now reading an advance copy of After Annie by Anna Quindlen. It’s quite sad, but well written. I’m also making my way through Ada Limón’s newest poetry book, The Hurting Kind. I put hearts by poems I like and that’s almost every page in this one.
What I’m listening to:
I listened to Why Fathers Cry at Night, Kwame Alexander’s memoir. It was so beautiful and I could listen to his voice all day. I just started Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll.
What I’m watching:
I tried to get into Lessons in Chemistry, but found the first episode pretty dull. Does it get better? I loved the book. I watched Take Care of Maya last night and I’m still devastated by it.
Writing news:
All the Acorns on the Forest Floor has a book birthday today! It turns 3! I loved writing this book. It’s made up of interlinked stories and writing it was like putting together a puzzle.
Interesting things I learned this week:
- There are more atoms in a glass of water than glasses of water in all the oceans on Earth
- The
symbol doesn’t mean something is actually recyclable. The main purpose of the symbol is to identify the type of plastic something is made from. (For example, if there’s a “3” in the center, it’s PVC, which most curbside recycling programs don’t accept.) The logo is so widely misunderstood that last year California banned its use on things that aren’t recyclable - Human babies are the only mammals that smile at their parents
- Adults laugh about 60 times per day (small children laugh up to 300 times per day!)
- Roughly 35 percent of women of reproductive age in the U.S. don’t have sufficient amounts of iron in their bodies, and the nutritional deficiency often goes undiagnosed. This was me! I found out I had low iron mid-training for Chicago and supplements totally helped
- Government officials said Monday that they plan to remove 21 species from the Endangered Species Act because they are extinct
- During the most recent water year, which ended 2 weeks ago, California received 141% of its average annual rainfall. The state’s snowpack this spring reached the deepest level recorded in at least 40 years
- California became the first state to ban the artificial color Red Dye No. 3 in foods, three decades after the F.D.A. prohibited its use in cosmetics
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“broken handle Stanley cup.” So, I got one of those large Stanley cups as a gift. I know they are all the rage, but I do not understand. They are SO clunky and heavy and cumbersome. I was holding the handle while twisting off the top and the handle just broke off. I briefly looked into repairing it, but that didn’t seem promising according to YouTube, so I threw it away. RIP.
What I’m grateful for:
- Making it to yoga class for the second week in a row!
- Easing back into running. My heart rate on today’s 3-mile run was higher than it was during my marathon. Ha. The fitness changes so fast!
- Fun kid activities—fall carnival, outing to see a play called “It’s OK to be Different” (based on stories by Todd Parr), soccer fun (with a special visit from family friends who drove down for the game)
- Connecting with a local writer-friend and talking writing. I need more of this in my life
- My daughter got student of the week for her class today!
Snapshots:
