I honestly didn’t think I was going to get this post uploaded and written this month. Yikes, it’s been busy! I have barely written anything, of any kind for the last couple of months and the days have flown by. I still can’t believe October will be over as any day now.
Something Loved
My 12-year-old daughter is preparing for her first-ever formal of sorts with her American Heritage Girls troop. She is also one of the pickiest people I know, so shopping for clothing is hard enough. Formal clothing is even harder. After struggling to find what she had in mind in her size anywhere online (and so few places in-store that weren’t ridiculously priced) we ended up on Thred Up. We were able to order several for her to choose from and return those that didn’t. Fortunately, her favorite dress (and shoes) arrived and fit exactly as she hoped and while I’ll pay a small fee to return the others, it’s worth it to avoid hauling from store to store and finding nothing. I don’t actually love shopping with my daughter but it felt like a nice moment for the two of us, spending time trying to find what she imagined in her head. While it’s another few weeks until the event, I’m glad she has something fun to look forward to.
Something Read
I feel like I need to catch up on documenting my reading for the last few months here. I was doing a ton of driving, related to my job so it’s been nice to have something to listen to in the car. When I saw the virtual book club from Modern Mrs. Darcy I thought it would be fun to join in, but I knew I wouldn’t have the time but as it turned out my local library has Northanger Abbey in audiobook form and that felt like a perfect compromise. I’ve also dug into the Jane Austen Society which I’ll hopefully I’ll finish before the end of the month.
I finally finished up Garden of the Gods. After starting Garden of the Gods, my Kindle Unlimited membership lapsed and I lost my access, so I waited for an interlibrary loan and then had to make sure I finished it up before it was time to return it. I liked but, but not as much as the previous adaptations of the Durrell saga.
Our local library also switched to a new app-based e-book borrowing software, so I can no longer borrow Kindle books which is a huge bummer. I am still borrowing e-books using the new app, but I have to read on my phone which is a bit of a pain. I’m hoping some kind of solution will be found for this in the future.
But fortunately, the new app did have a couple of new books by Karen Witemeyer, so I read the Hanger’s Horsemen duet: At Love’s Command and The Heart’s Charge.
Something Treasured
We’ve been able to have dinner regularly for the last few months with two different families and it’s been wonderful. We’ve got it scheduled again in the next couple of weeks and hopefully, the weather holds. It’s harder for us to host guests for meals in the cold weather because our kitchen is small and we can’t really seat everyone. But in the warmer weather, we can eat on our large screen sun porch and it’s been lovely to host friends. We always intend to get together and it took me years to start making it happen regularly and now it’s something we look forward to. After years of struggling to make friends with other couples even close to our own age, the relationships we’ve built are something I value so much.
Something Ahead
Two months ago, when I was writing this post, I was looking forward to the school year starting so that my job would be more stable. While that has been the case, I’m still having a very hard time finding my groove. I’ve had to accept that part of this is that I’m doing too much. The problem is, I haven’t yet found a solution to that problem. I recognize that I am literally trying to do more than I have time for and I’m almost constantly dropping the ball on something. But it feels like there are too many things that only I can do and, unfortunately, my children still aren’t as age-appropriately independent as I’d hoped so there just isn’t enough of me to go around. I’m hoping that somehow, in the next few months, I’ll find a solution. I don’t know what it will look like yet. I know it can’t be less sleep, I’m not getting enough of that as it is. I’m hoping it won’t involve cutting out my small amount of leisure activity. But I know that a solution has to be found because the current pace I’m living at is unsustainable. So while I don’t have a clear plan yet, I’m looking forward to forming one.
What was special about your October?
It’s your turn to share! Link to your #sharefoursomethings post or leave them in the comments here!
I know exactly what you mean about spreading yourself too thin. I have had to drop a lot of things lately. While it’s not easy, it is necessary. I hope you are able to find your balance.
It sounds like you love your local library as much as I do, Bethany!
Yes! As a homeschool family, we are very heavy library users. But I also rediscovered a love of the library on my own. It keeps me from buying books, movies or other resources that might not be a great fit or get much replay when I can borrow them from the library.
Regularly scheduled dinner with friends – that sounds wonderful!! And, who knew you could do returns with ThredUp!?!? Aha –
We just got our new library cards at our new local library and it was like Christmas morning! Love the library! Also, I can’t wait to host dinner with friends!