The other day, someone asked me what I was doing for the 4th of July and I seriously thought that was weeks away. This month has been packed for me, with some pretty dramatic highs and lows. I hope your June was mellow. Let’s get into the roundup:
Quote I loved this month:
“I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do… We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”
—Roger Ebert
Books I read:
This was an atypical reading month for me in that I read more nonfiction than fiction.
Here are my five favorites:
The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline. It’s about two sisters who marry conjoined brothers. Yes, it’s based on a true story.
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman. I loved the voice of this, and the mixture of humor and grief.
A Hymn to Life by Gisele Pelicot. I love the subtitle of this memoir—Shame has to change sides. Gisele tells her story of how she was drugged and raped multiple times by her husband and dozens of other men. Her bravery is astonishing. She is right—all shame should reside with the men involved, not her.
This is Supposed to be Fun by Myisha Battle. For those of you on the dating apps, godspeed and read this.
This is Not About Running by Mary Cain. This is a difficult book to read. Our culture of “more” pushes athletes to such extremes. I don’t think you have to be a runner to get something from this book.
What I’ve been watching:
I finished Euphoria (wow) and decided to keep with the disturbing content with a couple documentaries: The Crash and Maternal Instinct. Then I moved on to some dark humor with DTF St. Louis, which I really liked. The only lighthearted fare this month was Remarkably Bright Creatures, which was good, but I always think the book is better.
Writing news:
Edits for my new manuscript are with my agent, which means I’m on a mini writing hiatus.
Interesting things I learned this month:
- There are 60,000 miles of vessels in the human body
- Related: The heart beats an average of 2.5 billion times during a lifetime
- Petrichor is the pleasant, earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The smell is a chemical combination of plant oils, compounds like ozone, and geosmin—an organic molecule secreted by soil-dwelling bacteria
- If you spent $1 every second, it would take you more than 31,700 years to spend $1 trillion. Another fact: If you earned $100,000 EVERY DAY, it would take you more than 27,000 years to reach $1 trillion
- A recent study found that when women talked 15% of the time (and men 85% of the time), men perceived it as equal participation. When women talked 30% of the time, men perceived it as women dominating the discussion
What I’m grateful for:
- A wonderful trip to Maui with my daughter, my sister and her kids, and my mom. It’s an annual trip we do and a highlight of every year
- Playdates and hangouts galore for my daughter. She is having the best summer ever! Related: I’m very grateful to have a pool
- Boys & Girls Club, where my daughter is doing camp the majority of this summer. It’s so affordable and the staff is awesome
- Marathon training is going well. I’m just about 8 weeks out from the Sydney Marathon. I’ve purchased airfare so I guess this is really happening
- Friends and family who have supported me through a very scary ordeal earlier this month. Still reeling. Maybe at some point I’ll write about it, but not yet
Some snapshots:
From top to bottom: me about an hour after landing in Maui; sunset and soccer; a very hot 8-mile run (am not a fan of training while in Hawaii); the view at one of our favorite sunset spots; selfie in the good light; a glimpse of a rainbow; beach day; home sweet home; my work managers; a little rest on a 17-mile run (longest one yet this training cycle).
