It’s thoroughly fall in New Jersey. I still think I could have used a few more weeks of summer, but it turns out I’m more ready for sweaters and leggings than I thought. We’ve found our rhythm, the kids are doing well, and I’m grateful for the changing leaves. Here’s what else has been going on in these parts:
Some updates
I am very seriously considering a total break from social media until January 1. I do love seeing what my writing friends are up to on Twitter (X?) and I love some of the humor I follow on Instagram. But the reality is, the thesis I’ll have due in January 2025 isn’t writing itself, and I need to step it up on my self-disicipline.
Friends of ours just asked us to be the godparents to their sweet new baby girl, and John and I are so delighted. We pray for our godchildren every night in family prayer, and it was a joy to add her name last night.
What I’m reading
I’ve just finished two books for young readers I was sent to review: Detective Thomas and the Biggest Question and An American Little Flower: Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich. Both are really great books for kids, either as read-alouds or for independent readers. It’s so exciting to see great Catholic books for children coming to the marketplace.
What my kids are reading
My second-oldest is revisiting The Mysterious Benedict Society, with his sister waiting for each book as he finishes them. This series along with the Chronicles of Narnia have been such great books for our family to experience together and bond with. We have our favorite characters, our favorite lines, and I’m so grateful for that aspect of our family’s unity.
Something I love
For some, fall means pumpkin spice lattes. For me, it means slingshotting pumpkins as a family. We went with friends this year and it was as much fun as it sounds. Add a cinnamon sugar doughnut and a football game to the equation and you have the perfect fall day.
What I’m creating (knitting, lettering, embroidery, etc.)
I’ve been making progress on the Weekender, a simple, drop-shoulder pullover that I’m pretty sure I’m going to wear multiple days a week once it’s finished. I’m in a section of very simple, repetitive stitching right now, good for movie-watching or listening to something. Watching it grow slowly buy steadily is a good reminder of progress made when we trust a process and give consistent effort to a goal.
Where my work is
At Verily: “5 Ways to Prevent Chapped Lips This Fall”
“The Most Important Thing I Learned in Grad School Wasn’t In a Book”
And my first piece on the Close Reading blog at Slant Books: “Tom Lake and the Stories We Tell Ourselves”
What I’m working on
I’ve had a lot of editing work recently. I also submitted a proposal for a nonfiction book for families to Our Sunday Visitor. We’ll see how that goes. And then, really, need to work on that thesis so this time next year isn’t more of a challenge than it needs to be!
A quote to sit and sip with
“For a person with the habit of prayer, mere reflection is too frequently but an alibi, a sly way of confirming ourselves in a predecided design. The reasoning process easily leaves in the shadows what we desire to keep hidden there. The man of the world reflects in order to calculate his chances: let him. But how much weight can ‘our chances’ have for us, who have once and for all accepted the terrible presence of the divine in every instant of our poor lives?”
George Bernanos, Diary of a Country Priest, as quoted in Bernanos: An Ecclesial Existence by Hans Urs von Balthasar