It’s been a heavy week. I’m so sad for all those in Palestine and Israel who are suffering the effects of this eruption of violence. I’m the first to admit I don’t know all the history and, frankly, I’m less concerned with WHY all this is happening and more concerned with the fact that IT IS HAPPENING. People are dying—including children. We are all being exposed to such an ugly side of humanity and it’s a lot to take in. Perhaps it’s too simplistic to wish for peace, but that’s what I wish for.
Quote of the week:
“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
What I’m reading:
My plane flights to and from Chicago gave me LOTS of reading time. I tore through Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control by Amanda Montei. Such a great book. I also read my friend Stephanie Walker’s play, Friends With Guns—very thought-provoking. And I read A Quitter’s Paradise by Elysha Chang, which I enjoyed. At Unabridged Books in Chicago, I bought Woman Without Shame, Sandra Cisneros’ latest poetry collection, with the intention of reading it next month. But I started it on the plane and couldn’t stop. I loved it so much. I’m now reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchett for my book club!
What I’m listening to:
I started Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen because my good friend’s book club is reading it and I wanted to play along. It’s fun so far.
What I’m watching:
I watched all the coverage of the gymnastics World Championships, where USA took the team gold and Simone Biles won the individual gold. I also watched Race to the Summit the night before the marathon to remind myself that the human body is capable of crazy things. I’m a few episodes into Based on a True Story on Peacock and it’s a fun show.
Interesting things I learned this week:
- Friday the 13th (today!) may be considered unlucky here in the U.S., but other countries have their own unlucky days: April 4th (4/4) for the Chinese, Friday the 17th for the Italians, September 9th (9/9) for the Japanese, and Tuesday the 13th for the Spaniards
- Florida is the fastest-growing state in the U.S.
- U.S. employment grew by 336,000 jobs last month, almost double economists’ forecasts—some good news!
- Chicago is second to Amsterdam in its number of bridges. Learned this on the river cruise
- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s great uncle Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930
- For every human on Earth there are approximately 1.6 million ants. The total weight of all those ants is about the same as the total weight of all the humans on Earth
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Female frogs fake their own death.” I saw something about this on Instagram, so had to investigate. Female frogs will fake their own deaths to avoid unwanted male attention, according to a study published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science. This is hilarious.
What I’m grateful for:
- A great experience at the Chicago Marathon! I finished in 3:30:08, which is about an 8-minute PR for me and will qualify me for NYC 2024 and Boston 2025! I was happy with that and am currently happy that I’m no longer sore! I got to meet up with runner-friends while I was there, eat a lot of yummy food, take a river cruise to explore the architecture, and enjoy some beautiful days. It was a wonderful trip
- The biggest hug from my daughter when I got home. I’m the luckiest
- Fun dinner out with a good mom-friend last night. So grateful for the ladies in my life!
- Yoga class this morning. It’s been a minute since I went to yoga class. My body was very happy
Snapshots:
