The First Week of Summer...
If I say "Ferris wheel" next, do you know which book I'm thinking of?
We always end these posts with a quote, but this time we’re going to start with one, too. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is one of my favorite books of all time. The image of the first week of summer in this book has staying power, and I hope it will encourage at least some of you to grab this quick read and enjoy it.
The first week of August hangs at the very top of the summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.
Some updates
It’s starting to feel like summer’s on the way out, even though August has just begun. The end of June and start of July were, for me, the build up to the UST graduate residency in Houston, which was painfully hot, but otherwise such a wonderful experience. Some of my friends completed the program while we were there, and a bunch of new students are just beginning their course of study. It is such a gift to be among these writers. My friend Seth wrote a poem he shared on Twitter that you might enjoy.
This week also marks the last session of the picture book class I’m teaching at Catholic Literary Arts. It’s a full class, and we’re having a lot of fun. The students are growing so much in a short time, asking great questions, and encouraging each other. Another wonderful gift!
What I’m reading
I’m finally reading Tinkers by Paul Harding, which has been recommended more than once in my workshops. I keep opening the book too late at night, which means I’m not getting the full experience of it. But what I am able to take in is fascinating, lyrical, searching, and lovely. I’ve been trying to read a book a week this summer, but I’ve kept life too busy lately to let that happen.
Per Randy Boyagoda’s recommendation at the end of Dante’s Indiana, I’ve also started reading a canto a day of Dante’s Divine Comedy. I’m a third of the way into Inferno and getting so much more out of it now than I did when I attempted to read it in college. (I’m reading the Musa translation.) Another reason I’m so grateful for my graduate work–this work comes up all the time!
What my kids are reading
It’s been a while since I’ve read a story out loud to my kids, but this week we’re changing that. I’m reading Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, and my daughter, in particular, is really into it. It’s a strange story, but I like where it’s going. I’m determined to make time for this book this week, before life gets chaotic in the fall!
Something I love
Birthdays. I love birthdays. My little guy just had one and we had the best time celebrating him. I know I’ve used the idea of a gift a couple times in this post already, but it really is a wonderful gift to watch a person grow up. Even better when he likes dinosaurs.
What I’m creating (knitting, lettering, embroidery, etc.)
I’ve been asked to knit some clothes for a doll for my goddaughter. Notice how that sentence wasn’t, “I have been knitting some clothes for a doll for my goddaughter.” Ha! I have another week and a half, so I need to get my needles moving!
Where my work is
I’m grateful for a big section here this month! An essay, a short story, and a couple of pieces related to The Road to Hope. Keaton and I have been working on further promotions this summer, and we continue to be encouraged by the response. So many people do recognize the needs of those suffering from addiction and their families. And by working together, we’re changing how those needs are met.
At Word on Fire: “Finding Christ in ‘The Man Who Was Thursday’”
A story is forthcoming in the August issue of The Windhover
At The Young Catholic Woman: “Responding to Our Sisters Struggling with Addiction”
At Marge Fenelon’s blog: “A Pastoral Approach to the Crisis of Addiction”
Keaton at Busted Halo: “How Can We Accompany Those Fighting Addiction? A Look at the iTHIRST Initiative“
Verily: “We Need to Be Honest About the Realities of Addiction”
At Relevant Radio: “Summer Prayer Routine”
What I’m working on
Guys…a book I’m excited about is under contract negotiations. Hopefully I can share more here next month.
A quote to sit and sip with
Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.
– A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the last few weeks of summer to the fullest!
Yes to this quote from Tuck Everlasting! I saw this exact excerpt on another substack and thought, man, I want to share it as well.
Yay for Tinkers!