Welcome to the fourth “small stirrings” post here at One Tired Mother, where I try to share what’s been inspiring or moving me these days without linking to a million things. Like we’re just two people catching up at the local coffeeshop on what we’ve been thinking about lately!
(Find the first one here and the second one here and the third one here.)
Let’s go!
In the last few months I’ve been more focused than ever on my freelance life, which has felt great. The project I referenced in the last edition of this post took all summer instead of a month, lol. Oh well. It was kind of a beast. I’ll try to remember to share it when it’s finally released! After that wrapped up, I’ve been trying to discipline myself to pitch more instead of just banging out pieces here on Substack. I love doing that—I love this space—but I also love writing for different places: it’s a good challenge to try to fit the style of a publication and it’s great to get feedback (from an editor). I hopefully will have a piece coming out with Fairer Disputations, a publication high on my list for sure. I may or may not have spent the last two weeks in a bit of wallow-y imposter syndrome funk, but I did finally submit my draft and I’ll be sure to share here when it’s published. You can do hard things! Get after it! All you can do is the best you can do! (Telling you like I tell myself.)
Forrest Frank! I love him! Because I’m old now, I don’t really pay attention to music like I used to, but happily I have two younger brothers and some younger friends and cousins that keep me (somewhat) in the loop. One of said friends went to see Forrest at First Avenue (hi, MPLS) recently so I checked him out. Turns out I’d seen and shared this reel (still makes me cry) but I didn’t know who he was. I still really don’t, but I’ve enjoyed browsing his IG account and I love blasting “Good Day” when I’m making breakfast in the morning. Love what he’s up to—and man, his concerts look fun. Maybe someday I’ll get back into concert-goin’… (not me over here wondering when/if I’ll ever be cool again). Also, this. (Not me crying at a young guy just totally embracing his husband/father era.)
Camping update! In the last edition, I wrote about camping and how I like to joke that I’m “indoorsy.” I appreciated the encouragement from
and in that post. We didn’t go camping this summer. We did rent a local AirB&B in the historic district of a nearby city and do some urban biking and downtown restaurant and coffeeshop frequenting. Lol—so much more my style. But honestly, I’m inspired. Both Ashley and Shannon basically said camping worth it even though it’s hard, like parenting and so many other things in life. I’ll think I’ll get there, someday. I do really aspire to be in nature more and to become (at least a little more) outdoorsy.Speaking of hard-but-worth-it things, the biggest thing on my mind lately has been homeschooling! We’re doing it! We officially started the Tuesday after Labor Day, because that just felt right. It’s been a month now, and it’s going so well. And, it’s deeply challenging! I have so many thoughts to share… but for now I’ll just say that I’m obsessed with the slowness: I wake up every day absolutely grateful to be able to move at my and my children’s pace (especially that second-born, oof). Overall, it’s really going great. Is is slightly overwhelming, the massive-ness of the responsibility of it all—being with them so much, cooking three times a day, teaching them, modeling everything I want to see? Oh, yes. But it feels do-able and so very right for right now. I’m also keeping it simple because I know my perfectionist tendencies. ;) More thoughts to come, for sure.1
A few writer friends and I went off Instagram together for the month of September. I regularly take Instagram breaks, but I’m really feeling the benefits this time around and evaluating my presence there more deeply than ever. As one of the aforementioned friends said the other day, “it’s a trap.” It really is. I’ve been known to say it’s a mixed bag (there’s good with the bad), but I’m feeling more and more that the bad simply far outweighs the good. That’s the definition of a trap, right? Something seems good, maybe even is good, but it’s ultimately not going to work out well for you. Something good has reeled you in, and now you’re in a bad place. I’m continuing to stay off at least through the election, which felt like a no-brainer just a few weeks in, and I’m sure I’ll write about this again at some point. (I wrote about discerning to stay on Instagram back in December of last year—find that here.) We’ll see what this break leads me to; meanwhile, I’m talking on the phone with friends more, getting more done re: homemaking, writing more, reading more, and not filling my phone with screenshots of great ideas I’ll probably never implement. It’s been truly wonderful. If there’s a social media app that steals a lot of your time and attention, I totally recommend finding a friend or two and taking a break.2
We wrapped up our book club with Nourished! It was such an incredible, unique book! Sadly, we got news that the author’s mother suddenly passed away right before our scheduled Zoom call with her. But it was such a wonderful, honestly life-changing read. You can find the last post talking about it right here—including something I heard on a podcast that I’ve never heard anyone else say (other than me) about how cooking is denigrated in our modern consciousness. Onto the next book… and I’ve changed my mind on what it’s going to be! (Lol why am I like this.) So I’ve had Women Who Run with the Wolves on my bookshelf for over a decade, and I haven’t gotten past the introduction and chapter 1. I think this would be such a good book to read in community, and perhaps we will in the future. (Has anyone else read it or wanted to?) However, when I heard about this book coming out soon I knew it was the right one to read next. It’s the newest from
and I’m so excited. (I know, I’m always excited about books, but this one… oof. She’s saying things that desperately need to be said about our culture, and she’s also showing us a way forward. And we’ll learn more about Saint Augustine and Wendell Berry in the process!) I’ll be announcing it soon, and if it’s up your alley or sounds interesting I hope you join us!3I’ve been working my butt off finishing my teacher certification for The Cycle Show! In late July I went to see a workshop in Iowa that my supervisor was teaching, and it was so cool to see the whole thing done with girls present (previously I had only seen it with other adult women). I almost cried multiple times. What an honor it will be to lead girls into a sense of wonder and respect for their female bodies. Send prayer if you feel so inclined as I spend this month practicing and getting all my materials completely prepared! My certification workshop will be Saturday, Nov. 2, and after that—provided that I do well—I’ll be available to teach it anywhere in the U.S.! I’d love to come visit you and do this workshop in your community, so keep it in mind for 9-12yo girls in your area! I just continue to be in awe that a workshop like this exists, and that I get to help bring it to the United States. So grateful and can’t wait.
I think that’s all for now. Talk soon, and I’d love to know what you connected with here and/or what’s stirring you lately!
P.S. One Tired Mother is so close to 1,000 subscribers! This feels amazing and semi-unbelievable. If you enjoy what I talk about here, I’d love for you to share with a like-minded/like-hearted person in your life! Thank you for reading my words.
I also just posted in the chat about this—please let me know what questions, wonderings, etc. you have for me about homeschooling and I’ll use those as a jumping-off point for my writing.
Cal Newport gives great thoughts on all things related to intentional social media use, including breaks like this, in his excellent book Digital Minimalism.
To do this, all you do is get the book and read along with us! I put out a loose schedule, and I write reflections here as we read that you can comment on (and read others’ thoughts). Then, when we’ve finished the book, we get together on Zoom for an in-person discussion, ideally with the author present! It’s free and open to all thoughtful, curious readers here!
I'm pretty sure you're a fellow MN resident and if so I highly recommend camping at MN State Parks in the camper cabins! We've done them at several state parks so far, they have electricity and heat but no running water or AC. Having heat available means that we often camp in October or May when it would be too chilly for tent camping but the crowds are gone and we can enjoy the parks almost by ourselves. The electricity also means we can bring my Instant Pot which will boil water in the mornings (for tea for me and the kids, coffee from a french press for my husband) and cook or reheat foods that would take a LOT longer over a fire. We do still make at least one fire for a hot dog roast though, and always s'mores ;-) If you want to give it a shot I think they might be a great entry point for you too!
So glad you’re still feeling inspired to try camping! There’s no rush; you’ll get to it when the time is right for your family. Just remember: the first time is always the hardest. It only gets easier from there!