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Summer Thoughts, and a Reading Retreat

It’s interesting, the different ways people are experiencing summer.  For some of us, it’s whizzing by too fast and we can see the end in sight.  Others feel like summer has just begun, and in Anne’s last post she said “I’ve noticed that my life does not really change in rhythm when summer begins.”

Like most people with school-age children, I DEFINITELY notice a change of rhythm in the summer.  And, I’ve been enjoying it immensely.  I don’t have to get up in the dark!  There’s no rushing in the morning to get a lunch packed and my daughter to school.  I can stay up later at night reading!  I love it.

There are some details about the summer that I’m not loving, however.  One is the lack of running.  This is the second week of no running because of my calf issue, and even before that running was sporadic (and, sometimes painful.) I’m lucky that I’m still able to do everything else, like walk (ho hum) pool run (arg) the stair climber (ARG!) and weightlifting (sigh.) Seriously, I’m glad I can be active, but my life just seems a little less “sparkly” without running.

The other little, pesky irritation about summer is that, while I’m glad everyone is home, it’s just that, well, everyone is HOME.  Sometimes the houses feels a little crowded.  I don’t mind it at dinner and in the evening- then it feels cozy to have everyone here.  But during the school year I’m used to having a little more time to myself, particularly on my Wednesdays off.

Last week I read this article on Modern Mrs. Darcy: “7 Tips for Planning Your Own Personal Reader’s Retreat”.  Ooooh!  I want my own personal reader’s retreat!

Unfortunately I can’t do anything extreme like check into a hotel for the weekend, or lock myself in the bedroom for two days.  But I’m declaring this Wednesday my “Day of Reading,” aka a mini-reading retreat.  Contrary to what the photo at the top of this post implies, I will NOT be reading on the beach, because that would be terrible.  My plans for the day include 1) finish the book I’m currently reading, 2) go through my TBR and pick a few books to read next, 3) visit the bookstore and library, where I will browse and return home with a new stack of books. All of this will be done comfortably inside with the AC blasting away.

I had some big running plans for the summer, but when I look back on it I’ll think of it as the “Summer of Reading.”  I’ll take that as my second choice, happily.

How would you plan a “reading retreat” for yourself?

If you had to call this the “Summer of —-” what would you say?

 

Top photo by Link Hoang on Unsplash

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Weekly Rundown- Everything is Awesome!

I don’t want to say this injury is behind me, because that would be tempting fate a little too much.  But let’s just say “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie has been running through my head, and life seems good!  I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown.  Here’s how it all played out… Sunday I walked one mile and ran 3. Everything felt good! Monday I did lower body strength at home, including single leg exercises and squats.  One of the (few) things I’m proud of from my work this summer is the progress I made in the one leg sit-to-stand.  It’s one of the foundation exercises on Sally McRae’s app and also one of the hip stability exercises from Brad Beer’s book.  You start sitting on a chair or bench, and stand up using one leg, then sit back down, stand up again, etc. only on one leg.  When I first started I could only do five reps on each leg- now I can do 36 reps!!!  At least something has improved. I also did Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout..  I’m really tired of it by now! Tuesday I walked 3 miles… … and then did a different core workout!  I did Caroline Girvan’s Standing Abs Workout, and I liked it.  At least, I liked doing something different. Wednesday Again, I walked one mile and ran 3.  Still feeling good! Thursday I did my single leg exercises, and another core workout.  This one Engie recommended, MadFit Standing Core Workout..  I liked this one too!  Then I had time for 20 minutes of walking. At night we watched the Dolphins game, which was a complete fiasco.  We lost, and our quarterback got ANOTHER CONCUSSION.  The poor guy will be out for… ever?  The rest of the season?  I feel really bad for him, and now our season is a shambles after only the second game. Friday Gym day!  It was a very squat-focused workout, because I skipped deadlifts.  My low back is nagging at me again, and deadlifts sadly make it worse.  After squats and Bulgarian split squats I did some core (abs and low back machines.) At night I planned to go to our high school football game, but it rained so much that the band couldn’t play (so I didn’t go.)  They did manage to play in the rain and our team won!  This was our homecoming, and last year’s homecoming was completely rained out.  September outdoor events just shouldn’t be a thing in South Florida. Saturday This was a big day- I walked one mile and ran 4!!!  I’m getting there! At night we watched the Baylor game.  FINALLY.  A game where it didn’t rain, no one got injured, and we WON!  At least the football week ended on a high note. Sunday Off!  Sleeping in and waffles will be involved (obviously.) So, it was a good week.  Moving forward, I’m going to cautiously try running every other day.  Running every third day was great to get me back from this injury, but I can’t do that forever! How was your week?  Were there any moments where you sang “Everything is Awesome?” Top photo by Stainless Images on Unsplash

Friday Coffee Date!

Hey, it’s Friday!  Pour yourself a beverage in your favorite fall mug (wait- you do have one, right?) and join me. Let’s talk about the weekend!  Tonight is another high school football game, and I will be there.  The last two weeks have been away games, so I’ve missed going.  But you know what that means- it’s time for Homecoming!  My daughter decided to go to the dance with a group of friends, and we started thinking about what she would wear.  But let’s back up for a moment… The high school concert band uniform is tuxes for the boys and long black dresses for girls.  When my daughter was a freshman last year, she said she would prefer to wear a tux. Now, I wasn’t entirely opposed to this, but I just preferred that she wear a dress… like all the other girls?  I told her that whatever she decided to do was fine, but there’s a reason boys usually wear suits and girls usually wear dresses.  Girls are more curvy, so dresses flatter them more.  My daughter is very curvy, and I thought a tux would just make her look kind of big all over. She decided to wear the dress, and I thought she looked lovely!  Then I was telling my friend about how well I handled that situation, and she thought I was VERY WRONG.  Why, she asked, did it matter how she looked?  Why did I make that the most important thing? Er- good question.  When it was time for New Year’s, my daughter wanted to wear a suit to the party.  I agreed immediately, and she actually looked kind of cute (not that it mattered!) Later I asked how she liked wearing the suit, and she said “I loved it.  I felt really confident.”  Okay then. Back to Homecoming!  My daughter said she wanted to wear a suit, and we got to work on her outfit (I was tasked with finding her some new pants, which was surprisingly hard.) Then yesterday she went to the mall to help her friend find a dress, and came home with… a dress, which she is now wearing to Homecoming. You guys, I can’t keep up!  Girls are so hard!!!  Boys are so. much. easier. Anyway, while my daughter is at the dance on Saturday night, my husband and I will be watching the Baylor game!  I have a fun fall-themed dinner planned, with some new things to sample from Trader Joe’s. One last thing- I’ve submitted my request for postponement of jury duty.  Weirdly, the request had to be submitted in writing, and by that I mean I had to write a letter and mail it through the U.S. postal service.  When was the last time you did that? I was so confused.  I couldn’t even really remember how to do it.  When I printed out my letter, my husband looked at it and said “You didn’t leave room for your signature.”  Oh yeah- I totally forgot.  Then I had to find an envelope and a stamp, and take it to the mailbox… I mean, don’t we have more modern methods of communication nowadays?  Anyway, I hope it gets there, and I hope I get my postponement (actually, I’m hoping they forget all about me, but if worst comes to worst I’ll take a postponement.) That’s it for this week! When was the last time you mailed a letter?  I don’t mean a greeting card or postcard, but like an official letter?   Do you think I was wrong to encourage my daughter to wear a dress?  How much does appearance matter? What are your plans for the weekend? Top photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Reading and Eating

I finished Winter of the World, which will from now on be referred to simply as WOW.  It was so, so good, and I’m getting ready to start the third book in the trilogy!  It starts in 1961, where the second book left off. But let’s go back to last week- I had my trip to the used bookstore.  It was everything I hoped it would be (look away, Engie!  I’ve discovered that Engie does NOT like used bookstores!) As I hoped, I did leave with a stack of books. Some classic murder mysteries- I can never resist- and more Ken Follett.  I have no plans to read The Pillars of the Earth anytime soon, but I know I’ll read it eventually, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get a used copy in good condition. Eating!  Once again, I did not do any meal prep on Sunday so we’re limping through the week.  The good news is, I think I’m training my husband and daughter to expect less and less in the dinner department.  I mean- we do eat.  It’s just not fancy. Sunday morning I made gluten-free pumpkin pancakes from Running on Real Food.  First, let’s look at a picture from the website: And here’s, ahem, mine. All that garnish aside, mine look really weird.  But they did taste good!  Chickpea flour is my new favorite flour.  By the way, if you’re making pumpkin baked good this fall, don’t forget the formula to make them really flavorful- double the amount of pumpkin spice, and add a pinch of cloves.  And whatever you do, do NOT forget the salt! What are you reading now? Top photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Getting Back on Track

I wrote in Sunday’s post that I’ve been feeling like my life is just a little off track.  Then I looked around my house and realized one of the reasons is that I’ve been half-assing my beloved Pumpkin Palooza.  I had some, but not all, of my fall decorations out, and then a summer-y wreath was lying on the table.  Furthermore, I hadn’t had one special meal or snack to celebrate the start of football season. This was all wrong!  I needed to rectify the situation right away.  I lit a fall candle… …and got out all the rest of my fall decorations while watching the first half of the Dolphins game.  At halftime I put together a little charcuterie board… …and then we watched the Dolphins come from behind to win the game.  Fall is back on track! Let’s move on to running.  SIGH.  So far, my calf seems to be better, but my race plans are in tatters.  Back in May, I signed up for a race on November 9th.  It’s a trail race, and you run as far as you can in a certain amount of time.  I chose the 12 hour option. Hahahahaha.  Even if everything goes perfectly from now on, I’ll have no business running a 12 hour race in two months.  I guess the good news is, it’s a 4.5 mile loop that you run over and over again.  I can go and just run a couple loops.  That would be kind of sad- but maybe less sad than not going at all?  I’ve already paid for the race so if I can run at all, I’ll probably go. Now let’s deal with this jury summons.  I know it’s our civic duty, but I think it’s unfair that it creates more of a financial hardship for some people than others.  Additionally, some people never get called for jury duty, and some people get called all the time!  Luckily I’ve come up with a great solution. My plan is, all registered voters would be required to submit a form every five years, indicating the time they would like to do their jury duty.  That way, people would be able to pick a time that works best with their work schedule, and have time in advance to arrange for childcare, etc. Of course, if everyone chose July of 2027 it would be a fiasco.  But I have solutions for that too!  People who are retired, independently wealthy, or who have a very flexible work schedule could volunteer to be “swing jurors,” willing to be called at any time.  There could be incentives for people who serve in months like December (which I’m guessing would be the least popular)- like if you sit on a jury in December, you’re exempt for the rest of your life. I’ll be submitting my request for a postponement- do you think I should include my detailed plan for an overhaul of the entire system?  Haha, that might get me excused permanently (“Don’t let this woman near the courthouse- she’s obviously a troublemaker!”) Anyway, I’m starting to feel a little better.  As long as I can continue to run and nothing else goes wrong, I think I’m back on track. How do you like my plan?  Would you volunteer to be a “swing juror?” Top photo by Redd F on Unsplash  

31 Responses

  1. I LOVE the idea of a reading retreat! It sounds so decadent. I think my reading retreat would involve either:
    a) a couch, a lap blanket, a cup of hot tea (that magically never gets cold), cold weather outside, and a cat (even though I don’t really want a cat in real life. Maybe I could find a place with a cat?)
    or
    b) a hammock strung in the shade between two trees, and a cold lemonade. Oh and I love your idea of a visit to a bookstore as well.
    I think the first part of Summer was The Summer of Swim. This next part is going to be The Summer of Sitting in Traffic.
    I hope you get back to running soon!

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    1. Ha, the Summer of Sitting in Traffic sounds almost as much fun as The Summer of Not Running.
      I LOVE both your versions of a retreat- for the first one, I have a cat and the tea. Now I just need an empty house and to not live in Florida. Oh and by the way I know there are “cat cafes” where you could probably sit with a nice hot cup of tea and a book, and pet a cat. You’d have to see if there’s one in your area!

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  2. I’d totally do a reading retreat, ideally coupled with running if possible because I love the combination of active vacation with relaxing activity like running.
    We will be traveling for two weeks with a lot of downtime, so will load up kindle and read a ton.

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    1. I’ll definitely be either going to the gym or doing a pool run before my official “retreat” starts, because I also like the combination of exercise and relaxation. And- it sound like you kind of do have a reading retreat coming up!

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  3. So sorry that your calf issue is persisting!
    But there are two good things about being injured:
    1. your body gets a rest from running and you can come back even stronger (trust me, it works!).
    2. you get to spend time on other fun things like reading!!
    Enjoy your summer of reading – I bet you’re looking forward to tomorrow!

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    1. Thank you Catrina- I’ll keep telling myself that I’ll come back stronger. I am doing a lot of PT-type exercises so hopefully that will help!

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  4. Even with everyone home I find it pretty easy to read during the day, since I guess everyone is kind of doing their own thing, so does that count? I usually curl up for an hour or two or go out on the deck, and no one bothers me. So I guess what I’m saying is that every day is a bit of a reading retreat for me? That said I would totally be up for my own personal reading retreat, I know it’s too hot in Florida but I guess I could just go to the beach here.

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    1. For some strange reason, my family is totally fine without me when I’m not here, but if I’m here they suddenly can’t do anything. Mom, where’s the butter? My husband actually texted me at work yesterday telling me that Angie couldn’t find the butter. LOOK IN THE FRIDGE. Hmm, I guess they’re not really okay while I’m not here! I seriously doubt if I could get two uninterrupted hours of reading done in the house.

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  5. I basically stop reading in the summer. It’s a bit embarrassing but it happens every summer so I just need to admit summer is not my reading time. Now that I read Diane’s comment I think some of it has to do with temperature. I want to read when it’s dark and cold (I have ZERO desire to read on a beach). So I do most of my reading for the year between September and April.
    Right now I’m reading James Herriot books. They’re gentle and funny and exactly the light and fluffy material I need. I read a few chapters each night because they’re mostly stand-alone stories. I’m also thinking of maybe reading the first few Anne of Green Gables books again, too?

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    1. Ha, I also have ZERO desire to read on a beach! Florida is so hot, we basically just don’t have an outdoor lifestyle from June-November. I know, it’s sad. But that means I can be cozy inside with the AC blasting while I read.

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  6. A reading retreat sounds heavenly right now! It’s one of the many things I’m looking forward to when we get home…
    I cannot imagine checking into a hotel for a reading retreat though! Hotels are so bland and unexciting. I’m imagining my hammock, a watermelon lemonade, and the sounds of my family (in the distance, lol).

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    1. I actually love hotels, and I can’t really explain why. Maybe it’s because they’re bland? Theres no mess or clutter, so there’s no chores looming over me. I would totally check into a hotel for my reading retreat if I could!

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  7. I don’t have kids but I’d agree with you that the summer is going by so fast, because school starts back up here on August 1! And some school districts even started this week!

    I’m sorry you haven’t been able to run as much this summer, but you’ve still stayed really active and I think that will help when you’re able to get back to running pain-free. I would call this my Summer of Adjusting Expectations with running because of the heat I’ve had to adjust my training and accept that I’ll be slower and may not get as many miles in as I did in previous training cycles but I’m doing my best and focusing more on time on feet/elevation gain!

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    1. Hmmm, I could call this the Summer of Adjusting Expectation too! And… August 1st is ridiculously early! We start back the 12th, which also seems early.

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  8. Ooooh I love that you are making Wednesday your Reading Retreat! I hope it becomes a regular (monthly???) thing! And haha — I laughed so hard at this: “I will NOT be reading on the beach, because that would be terrible. ” I hate the beach, so I have to agree.

    It sounds so frustrating to continue to struggle with this calf issue. I understand how life can feel less “sparkly” without the thing that you love in it, and I hope you get back to running soon… or find other ways to add that sparkle back in.

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    1. Thank you Suzanne! I’m trying to add the sparkle back in with this reading retreat… but my biggest hope is to be back to running SOON.

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  9. It’s the summer of hospital rooms for me, but I’m refusing to let it get me down. We’re busting out of here today and then things are turning around. I’m going to enjoy the hot weather, bask in changing my clothes five times a day, and let the dog chew all the sticks she wants. We only get summer for such a short time and I need to enjoy every second of it!

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    1. Well I certainly hope the second part of your summer improves! Getting home from the hospital is a step in the right direction. Glad Dr. BB is feeling better.

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  10. Your reader retreat sounds delightful! I hope you have a wonderful day! I should make one of my shouldless days a reader retreat type of day. I do have a shouldless day this Friday but just a half day as our daycare is unexpectedly closing in the afternoon due to a memorial service for one of the very young co-owners who died from breast cancer. 🙁 So the closure is for a tragic reason. But maybe my Sept shouldless day could be a reader retreat type of day or even a half day. It’s good to give ourselves permission to really lean into a holiday. My reader retreat would probably involve me just reading for hours on end, probably in my bed!

    Summer is not all that different for us either since our kids are still in full-time childcare that offers the same hours as the school year. But our weekends feel much different since we have far more options. I think I would say this will be the summer of water since both boys are now into pools/splashpads/etc. Taco was not very into it last year and he’s still tentative about the water so I try to only go to places with zero entry wading pools. Even though the water is at most 2.5 feet deep, if that, he still does not like to step down into the water. He likes the zero entry experience better. But we have several options with zero entry so it’s fine.

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    1. Ugh, that’s such a bummer your should-less day was cut in half. Of course, not as much as a bummer as the young person dying from cancer, so I guess you can’t really complain.
      I like the Summer of Water! Here in Florida, every summer was the Summer of Water when the kids were little- there was nothing else to do with them where we wouldn’t all roast to death.

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  12. yay!!! I LOVED that MMD article. Agree, I also feel inspired to have a reading retreat! Sounds so lovely. And just think – isn’t it better to not be running NOW vs when the weather is gorgeous and we have 65 degree mornings!?!? (I know it’s never a good time to be injured but I’d still pick July over January!!!)

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    1. SHU, that is very true. I’ve been doing my pool runs in the afternoon, and it’s SO HOT that I’m actually happy to be getting in the pool. Of course I’d still rather be running… but better now than when it’s 50 degrees outside.

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  13. I have my Fabulous Fridays off from work, while my husband and daughter work. Sometimes I will take a book and take myself out for lunch or maybe just a glass of wine, and sit there and enjoy myself. Over the summer my daughter gets off of work at noon, so sometimes we want to do something, but otherwise it’s all me time. Other than her getting off early on Fridays, and my husband sometimes coming home early on Fridays, there is no real change to our schedule. Sadly we have no trips planned this year, though maybe we’ll do a staycation in September or October?

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  14. Okay, I’m going to have to name my Wednesdays- Wonderful Wednesdays? It doesn’t quite have the same ring as Fabulous Fridays though.
    We also have no trips planned- other than my short trip to Texas with my son next month.

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  15. What a brilliant idea! Now mind you, one of my favorite things is to hole up on the beach under and umbrella and read all day, but a day spent reading not on the beach sounds like the next best thing.

    Er yes the problem with summer in this stage of life is that everyone is home…but school will start soon enough.

    This is “The Summer of Being All Over the Map”…I can’t pick a theme.

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  16. If I were to plan my own reading retreat,
    a. the book must be carefully picked
    b. my phone must be unaccessible
    c. wifi disabled
    d. snacks prepped
    e. no children in the house lol

    Summer of 2024 is a summer of ME 🙂

    Reply

  17. I used to do what I called Festival Of Liz which involved getting food in and then just hanging out in my flat, having long baths and reading a lot. But it probably wasn’t very good for me! I did read a whole book last weekend as I had a review book where the publicist was very keen for me to get it reviewed by the publication date! Hope you enjoy your book retreat.

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  18. One of my long-time goals is to rent an Airbnb for a weekend for a reading retreat. I want an Airbnb that has lots of cozy reading spots so I can change up where I read throughout the weekend. Maybe I’ll finally make this happen someday!

    Hmm… I don’t know what to name this summer. My life also doesn’t change very much during the summer, aside from typically taking a longer vacation in the summertime. But mostly, the rhythms of my life stay the same throughout the year.

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  19. Oh, thanks for linking to me, Jenny! I find it fascinating how ‘summer’ differs so much! Your summer, and Sarah’s (at harrytimes) are so different from mine. I think the thing is, there are subtle differences in my summers – fewer meetings, thank goodness – but by and large, MY work doesn’t change. (And honestly, there are still a lot of meetings…)
    LOVE the idea of a reading retreat and can’t wait to read (ha) about it.

    Reply

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