5 Things I Learned This Summer ☀️
And some things I enjoyed.
Happiest Hobbit Day to those who celebrate… and last day of summer too!
I started the first draft of this post wearing cozy socks and sipping pumpkin spice tea from a pumpkin shaped mug, completely ignoring how it was so hot that day my dog was drinking from the birdbath. But I think I saw a faint wash of copper on the tops of the trees that line the park near our house. And maybe I am trying to summon crisper weather with sheer willpower.
It’s been a minute since I wrote here. September means a new school year which means something of a return to regular rhythms, and that deeply embedded desire to write again. Today is a good day to reset by sharing 5 things I learned this summer and a few things I enjoyed. (Get cozy, it’s a long one.)
As a reminder, this idea to note what we’ve learned each season and share it with others comes from Emily P. Freeman (now on Substack at
!) I am making an effort to turn my lists into a quarterly series here, on the last day of whatever season I’m writing about. I’d love to hear what you’ve been learning and loving too!
1) For me, summer is not for writing. (Or: It’s okay to be a seasonal creator.)
I mean, with the lighter pace of work and the general carefree vibes, you’d think it would be. But for us, summer is for hosting friends and family, for socializing and outdoor concerts, for spontaneous ice cream trips and family cookouts and celebrating so many birthdays. I kept telling myself I wanted to write, but I just couldn’t seem to get my thoughts down. So… I didn’t. No poems. No Substack posts. A few assigned things, sure, and a good bit of journaling. But not really any writing for art or pleasure.
I think there’s a sort of “not writing guilt” that can set in for some of us who aren’t writing full time for a living, like we aren’t “real” writers or something. But I like to think of it as the time for reflection, letting the ground rest, seeing what grows when the time comes again.
2) But summer is for reconnecting with your inner kid.
Lately I’ve been sitting with Madeleine L’Engle’s quote, “I am still every age that I have been.” And I’ve wondered, what does that look like here, newly 40, memories of 10 year old me a little fuzzy, while teen and twenty-something me act all serious and grown up? This summer, all I wanted to do was follow my inner 10-year-old’s lead.
So, when I got birthday money, I bought super colorful roller skates on Poshmark. I still don’t know how to skate outside, but so far, rolling around the house on wheels has been worth the price of admission. And last month I bought a Barbie for my desk, for no reason other than I haven’t had one since I was a kid, big feelings after the movie, and low key peer pressure from my sister. She currently occupies a corner with a My Little Pony and childhood copies of Narnia and The Last Unicorn. They bring me joy while I work on boring adult spreadsheets. Maybe that’s enough.
3) In a surprising twist, TikTok is my most life-giving social media platform right now?
Look, I can’t explain it. I do not know how to make TikTok videos. I have disabled any setting that would allow people to find me. But right now, I’m deactivating Twitter and taking a break from Instagram, and sometimes I find myself sporadically checking TikTok for a few minutes when I need inspiration. I’m training the algorithm to only show beautiful things like artists painting and journaling, fall baking, and rainy cottage days in Scotland. It’s chaotic. It’s fun. And then I actually want to log off and make something.
4) Fun Rhode Island Fact: Napatree Point used to be covered with houses.
All I wanted for my birthday was a quiet day with Chris doing something fun but localish, so we took a drive out to Watch Hill. Finding free parking is a beast mid-July, but after enough circles we snagged a spot and roamed the little touristy beach town, then found Napatree Point. It’s a conservation area — objectively the best kind of beach — and it used to be full of rich people’s vacation homes until the infamous 1938 hurricane wiped them all out. Now it’s for walkers and swimmers and birds. As it should be.
5) We are apparently not camping people.
For Chris’ birthday, we rescheduled the ill-fated Acadia trip. (You know, the one that got canceled because of my weird rash?) Imagine our thrill when we found some huts at a campground that were only $50 a night. And they were designed to look like HOBBIT HOLES??? Sign us UP, yo. Sure, it’s a little rustic — just a wood hut with a mattress and a fire pit outside and a battery pack for a little electricity — but how bad can it be?
I regret to admit we made it two days. Lovely as it is to go back to nature, we are weak humans in need of a small fan for white noise and good back support to get any sleep. At least now we have a sad vacation story to laugh about.
The Good Things of Summer
Reading: The Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy are probably more like cozy fall books, but that’s okay. It was a good detox after finishing a grimdark urban fantasy series. (BTW, am I the only reader out here that struggles with anything longer than a trilogy because I get tired and want to read something else?) I am also slowly picking my way through How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. It’s good and stretching. Sure I will have things to say later.
Watching: I mean, if you couldn’t tell by my comments further up and in the previous letter, I can’t stop thinking about Barbie. It’s not perfect (nothing is) but it’s beautiful and life-affirming and the ideal film to watch and discuss right after turning 40. I will follow Greta Gerwig anywhere now.
Listening: It was a solid summer for live music — Patty Griffin played a small venue 10 minutes from our house, we spent a glorious hot day at Newport Folk Fest (Maggie Rogers! Nickel Creek!), and we joined some friends for a rainy Dave Matthews Band show because look, one of my favorite things is watching my friends love what they love, and I have a friend I love who really loves DMB. (And it was such a fun time!) I also realize that both Patty Griffin and DMB were possible because of our disrupted vacation plans so… life is weird like that.
Drinking: “Make your coffee like the internet is watching,” I whisper to myself as a pour almond milk into a mason jar, shake it with some maple syrup and cinnamon, and pour over a glass of regular grocery store cold brew. (So basic. So delicious.) Also, thanks to recovering from antibiotics in June, I guess I like kombucha now? Some of them smell like feet, but Synergy lemon berry is tasty.
Eating: Weird weather means our garden was a bit of a letdown, but at least the jalapeño plants are doing all right. We got enough peppers to make this 4 ingredient jalapeño relish, which I have proceeded to eat with many things. Also really into feta cheese and finding new ways to use up a big tub of plain yogurt. Cooking in the summer is tough, y’all. Please bring on soup season.
Thanks for reading this far, and a special hello to anyone who found me via
. If you’re gonna be at Hutchmoot in October, please say hi!I am working out plans to write more frequently here, rather than randomly dump 1500 words on you all at once before disappearing again. May your autumn be kind and creative, wherever you are. 🍂
I like when you write and we get to read what you write.