I was wondering how many others here have a Substack themselves? Erin does some great writing, but I love seeing others too. (I write a stack called Caitlin Chats.)
My lilacs are finally blooming this week so very, very slowly. And there are flowers with teeny tiny baby strawberries on some of the strawberry plants. That tells my heart and head that it really is spring...in spite of the fact that it's been mostly in the 50s and rainy and gray.
I'm excited about the prospect of a lending library. I finally live in a place with a room big enough to be a personal library and I've almost finished cataloging all of my books. It's been a dream of mine all of my life to have a designated library in my home and now it's here. <sigh>
The greenhouse is full of veggie starts. A lot of my summer will be dedicated to tending of the garden. Late summer and early fall will be canning and preserving. Last year, we canned 35 quarts of tomato sauce. This summer it will be peaches, nectarines, and applesauce.
My yearly mammogram is coming up at the end of this month, so I'm holding my breath and praying that the cancer hasn't come back. It shouldn't, but my anxiety isn't listening to me, and there's always that small percentage of possibility that's there no matter what.
Randomly, has anyone else read The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera? It's about a girl, Petra Pena, who boards a spaceship with her family and a bunch of other scientists to flee Earth headed for another planet. But there's a seriously crazy twist that happens onboard the ship and some other people take over and wipe everyone's memories, so they can settle the new planet the way they want. But Petra's memory doesn't get wiped.
Praying with you about the mammogram! Those uncertain in-between moments are the worst.
In regards to lilacs - I fully intend to make lilac syrup, candied lilac and have one salad with lilac blossoms in it. My low-key life motivation is to eat as many flowers and beautiful things as possible.
Delirious by Prince came on the radio and I posted a pic on Facebook and said this is me the whole month of May.
We have one kid graduating kindergarten and one kid graduating 6th grade. This mama is not emotionally prepared!
Treasures:
1. Downtown Books in my hometown of Dothan, AL is where I work part time (on top of my full time job 🤪) and we are starting a summer book club. We’ve only been open 6 months but doing great and the owner has been so gracious in letting me develop it and get it running. We are starting with The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd.
AND We just launched weekly story time for the kiddos!
2. Summer is jammed up and jelly tight between camps, trips and work!
3. I am fully invested in 2 high school theatre classes in TikTok. One is in Delaware and their teacher gives big Mrs. Darbus energy from HSM. The other is in Alaska and their teacher is a Swifty and he’s hilarious! Well, they’ve had all these musicals taped to their desks and each day that take one (or two) off. The point is to reveal next year’s musical. And I am here for it! It’s so fun!
I have never felt more seen than when I read that last tweet about being late. It's my biggest flaw and it feels like every time I try some new attempt, it fails. It might have something to do with the fact that I have ADHD! That's right, your girl is officially diagnosed and medicated. I'm only on my first day of meds but I'm thrilled to have the stress of trying to get diagnosed off my shoulders. I went through ADHDonline.com and it was super helpful. I highly recommend it to anyone who is having a hard time finding a practice that will do adult evaluations.
-I am so excited about the lending library! I've got a million books and I can't wait to share them with my lil' swipes. If there's a specific title you're looking for, let me know - there's a huge chance I have it but I'm not going to list the four hundred books I have on the list.
-I am loving Laura Tremaine's One Day May challenge and today Jenna freaking Fischer liked my photo so I'm dead now.
-I've made yet another adjustment to my schedule that will leave me nannying more during the week and only working at the library every other weekend. I'm hoping it's the adjustment I need - it will at least get me away from the 12 hour work day I usually have on Mondays.
-I finished my spring semester!!!!! I start my summer semester in less than a week but I am not letting myself think about that, I'm just reading and cleaning out my room of doom while I have extra time.
-My 30th birthday is next week and I'm celebrating with a handful of friends at my favorite diner and then heading to the 90's themed bar in our town. I can't wait to actually celebrate something. It feels like it's been years!
Pending completion of paperwork, it's looking like I'm going to start picking up shifts at the city shelter in the next couple of weeks. I met with the medical director yesterday and she is so lovely and so overwhelmed that she basically said I could do however much/little I want both in terms of hours and caseload, as long as it get something off her plate. Hoping I can be helpful and also give myself a little financial breathing room.
I guess spring is over since it's supposed to be 100 degrees here this weekend. It was nice while it lasted. Also, 8 months of #trailerlife resulted in my previously bomb-proof dog developing storm anxiety, so I guess that was also nice while it lasted. Thankfully she responds to meds pretty well, but it's just so frustrating when we had a solid two plus years of her sleeping soundly through the worst thunderstorms.
I'm really excited to be spending 4 summer months at Olympic National Park in Washington! My sister and I will be there together, volunteering our after (and sometimes before) work hours to help in a park campground. I predict meeting lots of cute senior adults and vacationing families in our summer! She and I both have our fingers crossed that at least one of us will have a meet-cute with an adorable park ranger.
If there are any Lil' Swipes in WA state, I'd love to get together!
I’m so jealous! My husband and I would be some of the senior adults you are talking about. Back in the day we would have been one of the families. We love camping.
I LOVE meeting retirees on our travels. There are 2 or 3 that we've met in previous campgrounds that still text to check in on us to this day! I hope you get in some fun camping somewhere this summer too!
In solidarity with Melanie S. I’m sharing my crummy week. I often stay out of the comments when weeks are no-good-very-bad since it’s depressing to only read about the 💩 in my life, but it’s been a week of irreverent spiciness for me so it seems fitting to compound the emotions here. 🤪
⚠️ Caution: unfixable problems and sad-sack stories ahead
I have zero summer plans but have been desperately trying to schedule a single week away by myself. I originally planned it for my birthday but my sisters weren’t able (willing) to accommodate staying more than 2 nights with my mom. So I put it off till summer in hopes that there would be more margin. But no, there’s none. One sister has scheduled herself out every single week till school begins again in August, and the other sister is teaching summer school during June. In essence, this is what I was told: they can give me two options, one for Monday-Wednesday but not one day longer, and the other for Friday-Sunday (maybe). And only during a 2-week period in June. 😣 I’m now trying to schedule a split week, going away Thursday night or Friday until Sunday afternoon, then going *back* for Monday-Wednesday. 😩 I just want some time to get away! My caregiver muscles are stretched thiiiin and I need a break from constant parenting of a senior adult. But neither sister is willing or able to work with me. After several days of trying to “work this out” I’m angry and sad and frustrated. And I still need a break. There’s one other option that may need to happen — renting a cabin for a week and taking my mom away with me — but she’s really not interested in leaving home and that wouldn’t really be a vacation for me. But it would be a change of scenery and that might be enough. Either way, I need to make a decision this week or the reservations window will close. 😞
Y’all, I was in a MOOD this week. Along with navigating my sisters’ schedules (and whims), I also heard one of them try to tell us that COVID was over and we didn’t need to worry about it anymore. She wanted my mom to “get back to living.” She also made a racist statement about a specific group of people being the only carriers of the virus. To tell you that I was LIVID. And I got whiplash trying to address all the problems in that single statement she made to my mom. It has frustrated me for *days*. My mom is a different personality and just brushes off comments that don’t really affect her life, but I stew on stuff like that. And it just compounds all the negative feelings I already have toward that sister. This came after the social media clamor of the SCOTUS opinion, and it was followed by a particularly ornery attitude from my mom. So I have been feeling especially raw this week. And tired. Ya girl wants a break from reality, a way to pay for it, and a caregiver my mom will allow to come into her home. [She won’t do nurse’s aids or the like.] Sigh. Some weeks are harder than others.
End rant. Thanks for listening. Sometimes this is the only place I can share the hard stuff. ❤️🩹
Far be it from me to speak ill of someone else's family, but yikes, that is ROUGH. This may not be feasible depending on the level of care your mom needs, but do you know any families that will have a responsible college student type home over the summer? Especially if they are majoring in some kind of pre-health program, they may be wanting experience and may even have some CNA-type training. Not that I expect them to listen, but it may be worth reminding your sisters that a) she's their mother too, and b) at some point the care is going to be truly too much for you to manage on your own - what are they going to do then?
YES to all of this. So much YES. The nursing student idea is a new thought so I’ll look into that. I’m sure we’ll figure out something though it may not give me alone time; we may have to go somewhere together for a change of scenery. It doesn’t allow me a true mental health break but it’s something. Thankfully, my mom is still mostly capable and can travel short distances without becoming too exhausted. It’s just hard to find help to take extended breaks for myself. Thanks for suggestions! That’s what I love about this space. 💖
Being a caregiver is so hard. I looked after my grandpa for 4 years. It took forever to convince him that he needed a "babysitter" to help him in the evenings with dinner and meds. I hope you are able to get a break somehow.
Thank you. That’s the challenge: convincing a woman with a sound mind but frail mobility that someone *has* to be with her and then getting her to pay for it. 😞
That is very hard. And small towns are hard. It took forever to get my dad and his siblings to understand how much care my grandpa really needed. I hope it doesn't take that long for you.
That’s very kind. I’ve looked into a home health kind of thing but my area has care where you have to live on-site and my mom just won’t. She’s still sound enough that she only responds to people she knows. We’re in a very strange transition season of being too frail for independence yet not so frail she needs great care. I’m still looking. I can’t tell you how frustrating it’s been to navigate eldercare options in a small Texas town. 😕 But I’ll keep searching! I know this will be critical in a few years (or less).
Just popping in to share my new Hack Your Crying™️: Rage Addition resource 🙃.
After a particularly trying week and big Enneagram 5 pent up emotions I resorted to my favorite Schitt’s Creek episode: Season 2 Episode 1 Finding David. I realize there are many other lovely episodes that should probably have the honor of being favorite episode, but I just relate to Moira’s screeching meltdowns far too much 😅. If you’ve clenched your jaw for too long and are vacillating between calm, quiet rage and hysterics, just watch the first minute of this episode and the tears will come. I swear her screeches are therapy 🧘🏻♀️😂.
I love that episode. When he's in the field and he's like, "I texted Alexis!!" her response of, "I'm sorry I missed like ONE text, David!!" has me in tears
Thanks Shelbi, having a very “burn it all to the ground and start the F over” kinda day (week?), so definitely needed a hack your rage resource (as an enneagram 9, this is always needed). I need a solid hour of screaming into the void, worried I may alarm my neighbors. Hopefully this will help 😂
I try to tell people about the hilarity of Stewart all.the.time. because a college friend and I used to use that voice constantly, and it's never as funny to other people as it is to me! This made me laugh, though! Thanks for sharing!
1. Past/present good thing: The Evolving Faith mighty network launched! Very excited for this new space, and to follow up on my comment from last time slandering Twitter, I do think this will be a better place to find soul friends and less likely to find shouty debates and worst-take duels. Lol That said, I'm still on the bird app so grain of salt, etc etc
2. Future good thing: I'm going on a river cruise through Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Czechia this summer! I've done the Bavaria part before but never a river cruise or the other countries, and it's been several years. If anyone has overseas travel tips, I'm all ears! (Preferably more advanced than "you'll need a different electrical plug," yes, got it, but less advanced than "learn three languages in six weeks" lol)
This trip sounds fabulous! My only tip is to make sure you are in some photos-even if you have yo ask for someone to take one for you. I treasure the few photos I have of me on travels, more than all the ones I took of buildings 😆.
One of the only things I truly remember about traveling through Europe many years ago was to really enjoy the local food as much as possible. Ask for recommendations, see if the servers will bring you whatever they suggest, etc. I tried SO many new and tasty foods that way!
What genre of travel tips are you looking for? Location based or more general? If you will be in Salzburg, their city pass is very reasonably priced and gets you into everything you would want to see. It's definitely a better deal than a lot of city cards are.
Thanks! We're going with a tour group so we don't have to make decisions on what to see except on a few free afternoons but yeah, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, and sailing on a riverboat down the Danube! So anything around cultural norms, can't-miss sights, warnings away, what you were glad you packed or wish you would have thought of that other travelers might not think about, etc.
A good tour group is an absolute dream. The one I went to Italy with had a number of add-ons that you could choose beforehand or on the day. I don't think any of them were more than about 20 euro and every one of them was worth it (it was also specifically a budget company because I was a broke student at the time, so you know, YMMV). Both the Mozart houses in Salzburg are worth it. One is the house he was born in, and the other is a house he lived in as an adult, so the information overlaps some but there's different stuff too. You can DIY a Sound of Music tour for way cheaper than the actual bus tour as several of the locations are public sites. Food in that area of Europe is great but very meat-and-carbs based so you may find yourself craving something fresh and crunchy. Remember that insulated water bottles work both ways, so don't bother sticking it in the fridge if you want cold water. Buy a plastic bottle and keep that one in the fridge to refill out of. You will get pegged as a tourist no matter what you do, so just don't be an obnoxious one. People will probably be willing to help you out if you're polite and try not to talk at Standard American Volume. You can get away with a lot if you just walk with purpose.
Thanks! These are GREAT. I would never have thought of the water bottle thing. And very good to know about the Salzburg tours as those are all on our list of places we want to tour! And I'm very with you on being an American tourist (especially as our group, me included, will have Texas accents). haha We can't hide it; we just do what we can to be respectful and kind and polite. :D
Thanks! :D Feel free to follow along on Instagram: @jennadewitt. It's only set to private because I do a lot of activism on Twitter and my Insta is just fun, food, and travel, so people were getting confused at why my photos were just, like, palm trees and desserts and not social-justice-y over there. haha But I approve anyone who requests and is not a weirdo creeper man or trying to get me to join their MLM. haha
Friends, after VBS directing the week of Memorial Day, I am flying to Madrid on June 7 for 10 days! I'm also headed to Granada for a few days during the trip. I was an exchange student in Mexico in high school and I'm 50 now and have wanted to go to Spain for 30+ years!!!
Jenni this is so exciting! I spent a week in Madrid a few years ago. If you have the time I would suggest taking a bus to Segovia and touring the castle. The whole town is right out of a story book and the castle was Disney's inspiration of Sleeping Beauty's castle
OMG how fun!!! This will be well deserved after VBS. I was a VBS volunteer in high school and I had to plug my ears closed while the children sang each morning because I hated it so much.
Hello hello! :) Last night was my last 2nd shift of the school year until August. Hooray! :)
I have high hopes for this summer. At the end of May, we're going back to Lake Champlain, camping this time, and hope to drive to Montreal for the day, which would be our first time leaving the US since 2019 (also to Canada, actually). In June just me & my husband are getting away for a few days to California, where I've never been. In July we have a family trip planned to Costa Rica that we booked about a year and a half ago, that the kids don't know about. (Shh, keep the secrets)
Right now, we're in the middle of tearing down our ceiling and spray foaming it (done), and then refinishing it as a painted wood ceiling (still to do). Since we live in the woods, I get reverse SAD - it's very dark in the summer when all the leaves are out, so I am hoping this lighter, brighter ceiling reflects more light & brightens the house up during those summer months.
And now I may head back to bed - we were open late nights this week for finals, and lack of sleep is catching up to me! :)
Kathryn, your plans sound amazing!! Where in California are you going? I have lived all over Cali & have been living near LA for 10 years, so lmk if you want any tips or suggestions. Excited for you! ☺️
We are going to Stinson Beach - normally when we travel it's to more out of the way places, but we have a much shorter trip this time, so we wanted something that was a short drive from a direct flight. Would love any suggestions you have! Denise had given me some earlier and I screenshotted them. :)
California is really magical. I hope that you enjoy it and plan for some non-LA/Hollywood time (if you're in Southern Cal). It's not all it's cracked up to be. Laguna Beach was always my favorite beach, especially after dark. So quiet and beautiful and peaceful!
This summer I will be finishing chemo and radiation and I am here for it! If everything goes smoothly, I should be finished by August. The closest radiation treatment is 45 minutes away over a mountain pass, so I am incredibly thankful it’s during the summer and not threatened to be closed due to snow, in winter. Radiation will be 5 days/week for 6 weeks. Throughout treatment, we have had a crazy support system of meals, financial support, prayers, encouragement, and gifts. It’s bananas. To add to this community beauty, there are people ready to sign up to drive me to radiation each day! This is such a gift, as my body is so fatigued from receiving chemo treatments since January. SO! My plan is to record a podcast with my drivers each day; I miss podcasting and I’ve been quarantined for so long that good conversation sounds like a feast. I’m so looking forward to this. For 30 days, I get to interview friends, get stupid Chuck the tumor zapped for 20 minutes and then we drive through the beautiful mountains back home. Any thoughts on a great name for this pod?
Also, we are headed to Connecticut at the end of August for a family wedding. As a gift, we hope to fly into NYC and spend a couple of days in the Big Apple, before the wedding. I’ve been there one other time, but I would love your thoughts:
If you had two days in NYC, what are your top places to see? Restaurants? Experiences?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and celebrating with me. The Wilderness is dark for certain, but also marked with Wonder.
That is a LOT to deal with. I'm so glad you have good community to take care of you. And I'm very glad that you get to take a trip to NYC. If you have a chance to see a Broadway show, you should take it. If you feel the need to remember, the 9/11 memorial is there. There are museums and galleries and libraries.
If you're at all a musical fan, there's a diner near Broadway called Ellen's Stardust Diner, and the waitstaff (which is made of Broadway hopefuls) sing, which is magical. And it's not awkward singing to a particular table. It's just lovely singing. One of my best memories of New York is the Sam Cooke song "Chain Gang" sung by two of the waiters there.
I love your podcast plan to record with each day's driver -- and that your community has arranged to do the driving for you!
One of my favorite NYC activities is to grab a snack or coffee and people watch in any park. It's a fun rest from all the usual hustle and bustle, plus there are so many parks to choose from and so many interesting people to watch! On my most recent trip, I really enjoyed a visit to Little Island park and the Chelsea Highline.
If you're interested in a tall building view, I prefer Top of the Rock vs the Empire State Building. 1 - I believe it's cheaper and you can schedule your time instead of stand in line. 2 - It's a gorgeous, eye level view of Empire State. Pro tip - schedule your visit 20 mins before sunset, so then you get to see the city in daylight, dusk, and if you wait long enough, dark!
Mountain Feasts? You sound so delighted to get the opportunity to chat with friends Candis, I hope radiation treats you kindly and that the peace of the mountains ministers to you on your way home. (Currently undergoing treatment here, so I can share some of your feeling even if our journeys are wildly different x
Happy Friday, Swipes. I am the lame-o person who has no time anymore to find awesome stuff on the Internet. I miss my friend Internet. I miss tiktok videos. I even kinda miss doomscrolling. (JK. It is better that I limit my intake of Dumpster Fire Updates.)
The tweet that made me laugh was the one about the coffee date. I've never done mushrooms in the desert, but I get way too excited these days about meeting someone to do a Costco run together. #oldandsad.
I did have a fun booknerd moment this week when in the intro and notes on the new book I'm reading (The Cartographers), the author talked about hearing a story that inspired the novel, and I had just heard the same story from John Green's Ted talk, which I watched after the Swipes Bookclub on Anthropocene Reviewed. I would not have watched that Ted talk without that book being a selection for bookclub. So thanks, y'all for making me smarter! https://www.ted.com/talks/john_green_the_nerd_s_guide_to_learning_everything_online?language=en
Our summer is mostly home repairs and moving and then more home repairs, but I am hoping to get in an anniversary trip to the ocean, if at all possible. Late July is a tough time to book something, but I'm working on it. Anyone in CA have a dog-friendly beach rental they can point me towards?
We made a bunch of limoncello a couple weeks ago, so I think our summer cocktail is going to be limoncello and hard selzer, maybe raspberry? I want something light and bubbly when it is 90-bajillion degrees with a side of wildfire smoke.
Looking forward to hearing all your summer plans in the comments!
Do I plan my grocery shopping trips so I can talk to as many of my favorite Trader Joes workers as possible? OF COURSE. And homemade limoncello? Do you have a recipe? I LOVE a good lemon based drink, but making it homemade sounds dreamy!
Same! I thought his essays were so tender-hearted. That guy has gone through a lot and managed to be hopeful on the other side. I'm so glad he met Todd. And his wife.
For mocktails - a lot of my favorites are some combination of juice (I love a good lemonade), tea, and sparkly water. I try different combinations and add garnishes. And a friend of mine found a sparkly grapefruit juice called Fever Tree (I think) which hits that bright/tart/sweet/zippy note, and I love to garnish it with rosemary or lavendar. I haven't tried mixing it with iced tea yet, but I bet it would work. Sort of like an elevated Arnold Palmer. Another one I've been doing is a cran-raspberry juice with sparkly water and a generous squeeze of lime. Sometimes I freeze berries in ice cubes and put those in the glass too. I hope you find some fun things to try - and make sure you use the pretty/fun glasses! That makes a difference, I think. :D
I realize this is the season when most parents try to get their kids OFF the screen and into the great outdoors, but AZ summers are a hot hell, so my son and I are determined to develop our Animal Crossing Island into an imaginary paradise. I promised him tickets at the end of the summer. Don't smash our dreams and tell me those dodo birds aren't real pilots.
I grew up in CA where it was ugly hot during the summer. I watched a LOT of tv and read a LOT of books and ate a LOT of ice cream late at night in driveways with my friends during our brief forays into fresh air.
Hey friends! I like to skip church and garden on Mother's Day. I don't mind breakfast in bed or flowers, but I am deeply uncomfortable with churches appropriating a secular observance to uphold a certain ideal of motherhood that is not shared or even available to everyone in their congregation. That's all I'll say about that. 🤪
This summer our oldest is spending five weeks working at camp. Her two younger siblings will be there for a week as campers, so we are very excited about a week at home without the children. Then in August we're going to the Outer Banks for a week with family, and I cannot wait.
Also, my job will be transitioning from part time to fill time in July, and that is stressing me out a little - I haven't worked full time since 2003. It will definitely be a big stretch for all of us, and you'll probably hear more about it.
The outer banks is always a great time! I haven’t gone to church for Mother’s Day in over 5 years on purpose and will continue that tradition this year as well.
Your August trip sounds like fun, and maybe it will help ease the stress of the July transition. And how exciting for a kid-free week for you. I hope you luxuriate!
I was wondering how many others here have a Substack themselves? Erin does some great writing, but I love seeing others too. (I write a stack called Caitlin Chats.)
My lilacs are finally blooming this week so very, very slowly. And there are flowers with teeny tiny baby strawberries on some of the strawberry plants. That tells my heart and head that it really is spring...in spite of the fact that it's been mostly in the 50s and rainy and gray.
I'm excited about the prospect of a lending library. I finally live in a place with a room big enough to be a personal library and I've almost finished cataloging all of my books. It's been a dream of mine all of my life to have a designated library in my home and now it's here. <sigh>
The greenhouse is full of veggie starts. A lot of my summer will be dedicated to tending of the garden. Late summer and early fall will be canning and preserving. Last year, we canned 35 quarts of tomato sauce. This summer it will be peaches, nectarines, and applesauce.
My yearly mammogram is coming up at the end of this month, so I'm holding my breath and praying that the cancer hasn't come back. It shouldn't, but my anxiety isn't listening to me, and there's always that small percentage of possibility that's there no matter what.
Randomly, has anyone else read The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera? It's about a girl, Petra Pena, who boards a spaceship with her family and a bunch of other scientists to flee Earth headed for another planet. But there's a seriously crazy twist that happens onboard the ship and some other people take over and wipe everyone's memories, so they can settle the new planet the way they want. But Petra's memory doesn't get wiped.
Praying with you about the mammogram! Those uncertain in-between moments are the worst.
In regards to lilacs - I fully intend to make lilac syrup, candied lilac and have one salad with lilac blossoms in it. My low-key life motivation is to eat as many flowers and beautiful things as possible.
That sounds delicious. I love lavender syrup in my lemonade.
It’s already May! What?!
Delirious by Prince came on the radio and I posted a pic on Facebook and said this is me the whole month of May.
We have one kid graduating kindergarten and one kid graduating 6th grade. This mama is not emotionally prepared!
Treasures:
1. Downtown Books in my hometown of Dothan, AL is where I work part time (on top of my full time job 🤪) and we are starting a summer book club. We’ve only been open 6 months but doing great and the owner has been so gracious in letting me develop it and get it running. We are starting with The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd.
AND We just launched weekly story time for the kiddos!
2. Summer is jammed up and jelly tight between camps, trips and work!
3. I am fully invested in 2 high school theatre classes in TikTok. One is in Delaware and their teacher gives big Mrs. Darbus energy from HSM. The other is in Alaska and their teacher is a Swifty and he’s hilarious! Well, they’ve had all these musicals taped to their desks and each day that take one (or two) off. The point is to reveal next year’s musical. And I am here for it! It’s so fun!
https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdg9VLx3/
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdg93AKb/
Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate and for those who have a hard time on this day, I see you and am thinking about you.
I have never felt more seen than when I read that last tweet about being late. It's my biggest flaw and it feels like every time I try some new attempt, it fails. It might have something to do with the fact that I have ADHD! That's right, your girl is officially diagnosed and medicated. I'm only on my first day of meds but I'm thrilled to have the stress of trying to get diagnosed off my shoulders. I went through ADHDonline.com and it was super helpful. I highly recommend it to anyone who is having a hard time finding a practice that will do adult evaluations.
-I am so excited about the lending library! I've got a million books and I can't wait to share them with my lil' swipes. If there's a specific title you're looking for, let me know - there's a huge chance I have it but I'm not going to list the four hundred books I have on the list.
-I am loving Laura Tremaine's One Day May challenge and today Jenna freaking Fischer liked my photo so I'm dead now.
-I've made yet another adjustment to my schedule that will leave me nannying more during the week and only working at the library every other weekend. I'm hoping it's the adjustment I need - it will at least get me away from the 12 hour work day I usually have on Mondays.
-I finished my spring semester!!!!! I start my summer semester in less than a week but I am not letting myself think about that, I'm just reading and cleaning out my room of doom while I have extra time.
-My 30th birthday is next week and I'm celebrating with a handful of friends at my favorite diner and then heading to the 90's themed bar in our town. I can't wait to actually celebrate something. It feels like it's been years!
Pending completion of paperwork, it's looking like I'm going to start picking up shifts at the city shelter in the next couple of weeks. I met with the medical director yesterday and she is so lovely and so overwhelmed that she basically said I could do however much/little I want both in terms of hours and caseload, as long as it get something off her plate. Hoping I can be helpful and also give myself a little financial breathing room.
I guess spring is over since it's supposed to be 100 degrees here this weekend. It was nice while it lasted. Also, 8 months of #trailerlife resulted in my previously bomb-proof dog developing storm anxiety, so I guess that was also nice while it lasted. Thankfully she responds to meds pretty well, but it's just so frustrating when we had a solid two plus years of her sleeping soundly through the worst thunderstorms.
If you are feeling some feelings about the Judds this week: https://wpln.org/post/naomi-judd-embodied-the-role-of-country-musics-mother-and-helped-to-expand-it/?fbclid=IwAR3H9aSW-HwwXXWsAevRYI4oSWBPTZzwPvFD72QeIJkC3Q-GYOUNhQ0bvQQ
If you are feeling some feelings about the whole SCOTUS situation: https://jenhatmaker.com/my-thoughts-on-the-roe-v-wade-reversal/
A couple IG accounts that never miss:
- https://www.instagram.com/underthedesknews/
- https://www.instagram.com/ryan_ken_acts/
100?! 😭 Also - all the other things.
I'm really excited to be spending 4 summer months at Olympic National Park in Washington! My sister and I will be there together, volunteering our after (and sometimes before) work hours to help in a park campground. I predict meeting lots of cute senior adults and vacationing families in our summer! She and I both have our fingers crossed that at least one of us will have a meet-cute with an adorable park ranger.
If there are any Lil' Swipes in WA state, I'd love to get together!
That sounds like such a great gig. Hope you meet some awesome folks!
I’m so jealous! My husband and I would be some of the senior adults you are talking about. Back in the day we would have been one of the families. We love camping.
I LOVE meeting retirees on our travels. There are 2 or 3 that we've met in previous campgrounds that still text to check in on us to this day! I hope you get in some fun camping somewhere this summer too!
Olympic National Park is beautiful!! I live in SW WA, about an hour west of Mt St Helens. It's beautiful here in the summertime.
We spent 10 days on the Olympic Penninsula a couple of years ago and were blown away -- so much to do and see!
In solidarity with Melanie S. I’m sharing my crummy week. I often stay out of the comments when weeks are no-good-very-bad since it’s depressing to only read about the 💩 in my life, but it’s been a week of irreverent spiciness for me so it seems fitting to compound the emotions here. 🤪
⚠️ Caution: unfixable problems and sad-sack stories ahead
I have zero summer plans but have been desperately trying to schedule a single week away by myself. I originally planned it for my birthday but my sisters weren’t able (willing) to accommodate staying more than 2 nights with my mom. So I put it off till summer in hopes that there would be more margin. But no, there’s none. One sister has scheduled herself out every single week till school begins again in August, and the other sister is teaching summer school during June. In essence, this is what I was told: they can give me two options, one for Monday-Wednesday but not one day longer, and the other for Friday-Sunday (maybe). And only during a 2-week period in June. 😣 I’m now trying to schedule a split week, going away Thursday night or Friday until Sunday afternoon, then going *back* for Monday-Wednesday. 😩 I just want some time to get away! My caregiver muscles are stretched thiiiin and I need a break from constant parenting of a senior adult. But neither sister is willing or able to work with me. After several days of trying to “work this out” I’m angry and sad and frustrated. And I still need a break. There’s one other option that may need to happen — renting a cabin for a week and taking my mom away with me — but she’s really not interested in leaving home and that wouldn’t really be a vacation for me. But it would be a change of scenery and that might be enough. Either way, I need to make a decision this week or the reservations window will close. 😞
Y’all, I was in a MOOD this week. Along with navigating my sisters’ schedules (and whims), I also heard one of them try to tell us that COVID was over and we didn’t need to worry about it anymore. She wanted my mom to “get back to living.” She also made a racist statement about a specific group of people being the only carriers of the virus. To tell you that I was LIVID. And I got whiplash trying to address all the problems in that single statement she made to my mom. It has frustrated me for *days*. My mom is a different personality and just brushes off comments that don’t really affect her life, but I stew on stuff like that. And it just compounds all the negative feelings I already have toward that sister. This came after the social media clamor of the SCOTUS opinion, and it was followed by a particularly ornery attitude from my mom. So I have been feeling especially raw this week. And tired. Ya girl wants a break from reality, a way to pay for it, and a caregiver my mom will allow to come into her home. [She won’t do nurse’s aids or the like.] Sigh. Some weeks are harder than others.
End rant. Thanks for listening. Sometimes this is the only place I can share the hard stuff. ❤️🩹
Far be it from me to speak ill of someone else's family, but yikes, that is ROUGH. This may not be feasible depending on the level of care your mom needs, but do you know any families that will have a responsible college student type home over the summer? Especially if they are majoring in some kind of pre-health program, they may be wanting experience and may even have some CNA-type training. Not that I expect them to listen, but it may be worth reminding your sisters that a) she's their mother too, and b) at some point the care is going to be truly too much for you to manage on your own - what are they going to do then?
YES to all of this. So much YES. The nursing student idea is a new thought so I’ll look into that. I’m sure we’ll figure out something though it may not give me alone time; we may have to go somewhere together for a change of scenery. It doesn’t allow me a true mental health break but it’s something. Thankfully, my mom is still mostly capable and can travel short distances without becoming too exhausted. It’s just hard to find help to take extended breaks for myself. Thanks for suggestions! That’s what I love about this space. 💖
Being a caregiver is so hard. I looked after my grandpa for 4 years. It took forever to convince him that he needed a "babysitter" to help him in the evenings with dinner and meds. I hope you are able to get a break somehow.
Thank you. That’s the challenge: convincing a woman with a sound mind but frail mobility that someone *has* to be with her and then getting her to pay for it. 😞
That is very hard. And small towns are hard. It took forever to get my dad and his siblings to understand how much care my grandpa really needed. I hope it doesn't take that long for you.
That’s very kind. I’ve looked into a home health kind of thing but my area has care where you have to live on-site and my mom just won’t. She’s still sound enough that she only responds to people she knows. We’re in a very strange transition season of being too frail for independence yet not so frail she needs great care. I’m still looking. I can’t tell you how frustrating it’s been to navigate eldercare options in a small Texas town. 😕 But I’ll keep searching! I know this will be critical in a few years (or less).
Hello!
Just popping in to share my new Hack Your Crying™️: Rage Addition resource 🙃.
After a particularly trying week and big Enneagram 5 pent up emotions I resorted to my favorite Schitt’s Creek episode: Season 2 Episode 1 Finding David. I realize there are many other lovely episodes that should probably have the honor of being favorite episode, but I just relate to Moira’s screeching meltdowns far too much 😅. If you’ve clenched your jaw for too long and are vacillating between calm, quiet rage and hysterics, just watch the first minute of this episode and the tears will come. I swear her screeches are therapy 🧘🏻♀️😂.
Happy Friday!
*walks away to immediately put on the episode*
Sorry about the rage hysterics, but I think your hack is fantastic. Also - this is one of my favorite SC scenes: https://youtu.be/I4eZFcMyhzo
I love that episode. When he's in the field and he's like, "I texted Alexis!!" her response of, "I'm sorry I missed like ONE text, David!!" has me in tears
The best!
Thanks Shelbi, having a very “burn it all to the ground and start the F over” kinda day (week?), so definitely needed a hack your rage resource (as an enneagram 9, this is always needed). I need a solid hour of screaming into the void, worried I may alarm my neighbors. Hopefully this will help 😂
Anyone else watch Mad TV in the early 2000's? #LookWhatICanDo brought me so much joy this morning lolol
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CcDZDn9skkd/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
I try to tell people about the hilarity of Stewart all.the.time. because a college friend and I used to use that voice constantly, and it's never as funny to other people as it is to me! This made me laugh, though! Thanks for sharing!
1. Past/present good thing: The Evolving Faith mighty network launched! Very excited for this new space, and to follow up on my comment from last time slandering Twitter, I do think this will be a better place to find soul friends and less likely to find shouty debates and worst-take duels. Lol That said, I'm still on the bird app so grain of salt, etc etc
2. Future good thing: I'm going on a river cruise through Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Czechia this summer! I've done the Bavaria part before but never a river cruise or the other countries, and it's been several years. If anyone has overseas travel tips, I'm all ears! (Preferably more advanced than "you'll need a different electrical plug," yes, got it, but less advanced than "learn three languages in six weeks" lol)
This trip sounds fabulous! My only tip is to make sure you are in some photos-even if you have yo ask for someone to take one for you. I treasure the few photos I have of me on travels, more than all the ones I took of buildings 😆.
Good point! As a single person I generally have 1. photos of places/things 2. photos of other people 3. selfies. lol
Yep. All my photos are very architectural. 😂
One of the only things I truly remember about traveling through Europe many years ago was to really enjoy the local food as much as possible. Ask for recommendations, see if the servers will bring you whatever they suggest, etc. I tried SO many new and tasty foods that way!
Oo good idea!
This river cruise sounds so dreamy!!! What cruise line are you using?!
Amawaterways!
What genre of travel tips are you looking for? Location based or more general? If you will be in Salzburg, their city pass is very reasonably priced and gets you into everything you would want to see. It's definitely a better deal than a lot of city cards are.
Thanks! We're going with a tour group so we don't have to make decisions on what to see except on a few free afternoons but yeah, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, and sailing on a riverboat down the Danube! So anything around cultural norms, can't-miss sights, warnings away, what you were glad you packed or wish you would have thought of that other travelers might not think about, etc.
A good tour group is an absolute dream. The one I went to Italy with had a number of add-ons that you could choose beforehand or on the day. I don't think any of them were more than about 20 euro and every one of them was worth it (it was also specifically a budget company because I was a broke student at the time, so you know, YMMV). Both the Mozart houses in Salzburg are worth it. One is the house he was born in, and the other is a house he lived in as an adult, so the information overlaps some but there's different stuff too. You can DIY a Sound of Music tour for way cheaper than the actual bus tour as several of the locations are public sites. Food in that area of Europe is great but very meat-and-carbs based so you may find yourself craving something fresh and crunchy. Remember that insulated water bottles work both ways, so don't bother sticking it in the fridge if you want cold water. Buy a plastic bottle and keep that one in the fridge to refill out of. You will get pegged as a tourist no matter what you do, so just don't be an obnoxious one. People will probably be willing to help you out if you're polite and try not to talk at Standard American Volume. You can get away with a lot if you just walk with purpose.
Thanks! These are GREAT. I would never have thought of the water bottle thing. And very good to know about the Salzburg tours as those are all on our list of places we want to tour! And I'm very with you on being an American tourist (especially as our group, me included, will have Texas accents). haha We can't hide it; we just do what we can to be respectful and kind and polite. :D
That trip sounds incredible! Do share when you head out. I’d love to follow along.
Thanks! :D Feel free to follow along on Instagram: @jennadewitt. It's only set to private because I do a lot of activism on Twitter and my Insta is just fun, food, and travel, so people were getting confused at why my photos were just, like, palm trees and desserts and not social-justice-y over there. haha But I approve anyone who requests and is not a weirdo creeper man or trying to get me to join their MLM. haha
Friends, after VBS directing the week of Memorial Day, I am flying to Madrid on June 7 for 10 days! I'm also headed to Granada for a few days during the trip. I was an exchange student in Mexico in high school and I'm 50 now and have wanted to go to Spain for 30+ years!!!
Yay, this sounds like a ton of fun!!
Jenni this is so exciting! I spent a week in Madrid a few years ago. If you have the time I would suggest taking a bus to Segovia and touring the castle. The whole town is right out of a story book and the castle was Disney's inspiration of Sleeping Beauty's castle
Thanks for the advice, Eliza! I've been thinking about which day trips I want to/have time to take. I will definitely go to Segovia!
OMG how fun!!! This will be well deserved after VBS. I was a VBS volunteer in high school and I had to plug my ears closed while the children sang each morning because I hated it so much.
Hello hello! :) Last night was my last 2nd shift of the school year until August. Hooray! :)
I have high hopes for this summer. At the end of May, we're going back to Lake Champlain, camping this time, and hope to drive to Montreal for the day, which would be our first time leaving the US since 2019 (also to Canada, actually). In June just me & my husband are getting away for a few days to California, where I've never been. In July we have a family trip planned to Costa Rica that we booked about a year and a half ago, that the kids don't know about. (Shh, keep the secrets)
Right now, we're in the middle of tearing down our ceiling and spray foaming it (done), and then refinishing it as a painted wood ceiling (still to do). Since we live in the woods, I get reverse SAD - it's very dark in the summer when all the leaves are out, so I am hoping this lighter, brighter ceiling reflects more light & brightens the house up during those summer months.
And now I may head back to bed - we were open late nights this week for finals, and lack of sleep is catching up to me! :)
Lake Champlain is so pretty! All your trips sound lovely!
Kathryn, your plans sound amazing!! Where in California are you going? I have lived all over Cali & have been living near LA for 10 years, so lmk if you want any tips or suggestions. Excited for you! ☺️
We are going to Stinson Beach - normally when we travel it's to more out of the way places, but we have a much shorter trip this time, so we wanted something that was a short drive from a direct flight. Would love any suggestions you have! Denise had given me some earlier and I screenshotted them. :)
California is really magical. I hope that you enjoy it and plan for some non-LA/Hollywood time (if you're in Southern Cal). It's not all it's cracked up to be. Laguna Beach was always my favorite beach, especially after dark. So quiet and beautiful and peaceful!
I am the least city person there is, probably, so no worries there! :) ha ha
Greetings from the PNW!
This summer I will be finishing chemo and radiation and I am here for it! If everything goes smoothly, I should be finished by August. The closest radiation treatment is 45 minutes away over a mountain pass, so I am incredibly thankful it’s during the summer and not threatened to be closed due to snow, in winter. Radiation will be 5 days/week for 6 weeks. Throughout treatment, we have had a crazy support system of meals, financial support, prayers, encouragement, and gifts. It’s bananas. To add to this community beauty, there are people ready to sign up to drive me to radiation each day! This is such a gift, as my body is so fatigued from receiving chemo treatments since January. SO! My plan is to record a podcast with my drivers each day; I miss podcasting and I’ve been quarantined for so long that good conversation sounds like a feast. I’m so looking forward to this. For 30 days, I get to interview friends, get stupid Chuck the tumor zapped for 20 minutes and then we drive through the beautiful mountains back home. Any thoughts on a great name for this pod?
Also, we are headed to Connecticut at the end of August for a family wedding. As a gift, we hope to fly into NYC and spend a couple of days in the Big Apple, before the wedding. I’ve been there one other time, but I would love your thoughts:
If you had two days in NYC, what are your top places to see? Restaurants? Experiences?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and celebrating with me. The Wilderness is dark for certain, but also marked with Wonder.
The NBC Studio tour was so fun! If you are a fan of SNL, Jimmy Fallon, the Today Show, etc, you will love it.
On the Road Again (the life I love is makin' podcasts with my friends...)
😂
That is a LOT to deal with. I'm so glad you have good community to take care of you. And I'm very glad that you get to take a trip to NYC. If you have a chance to see a Broadway show, you should take it. If you feel the need to remember, the 9/11 memorial is there. There are museums and galleries and libraries.
If you're at all a musical fan, there's a diner near Broadway called Ellen's Stardust Diner, and the waitstaff (which is made of Broadway hopefuls) sing, which is magical. And it's not awkward singing to a particular table. It's just lovely singing. One of my best memories of New York is the Sam Cooke song "Chain Gang" sung by two of the waiters there.
I love your podcast plan to record with each day's driver -- and that your community has arranged to do the driving for you!
One of my favorite NYC activities is to grab a snack or coffee and people watch in any park. It's a fun rest from all the usual hustle and bustle, plus there are so many parks to choose from and so many interesting people to watch! On my most recent trip, I really enjoyed a visit to Little Island park and the Chelsea Highline.
If you're interested in a tall building view, I prefer Top of the Rock vs the Empire State Building. 1 - I believe it's cheaper and you can schedule your time instead of stand in line. 2 - It's a gorgeous, eye level view of Empire State. Pro tip - schedule your visit 20 mins before sunset, so then you get to see the city in daylight, dusk, and if you wait long enough, dark!
My recommendation is much less sweet. The F*ck Chuck podcast. Many happy thoughts regarding full healing.
😂 💯
My oncology nurses have shirts that say ‘I’m here to kill Chuck’
I love that!
Road Trip to Remission? I always love an alliterative podcast title. 🤓
Mountain Feasts? You sound so delighted to get the opportunity to chat with friends Candis, I hope radiation treats you kindly and that the peace of the mountains ministers to you on your way home. (Currently undergoing treatment here, so I can share some of your feeling even if our journeys are wildly different x
Happy Friday, Swipes. I am the lame-o person who has no time anymore to find awesome stuff on the Internet. I miss my friend Internet. I miss tiktok videos. I even kinda miss doomscrolling. (JK. It is better that I limit my intake of Dumpster Fire Updates.)
The tweet that made me laugh was the one about the coffee date. I've never done mushrooms in the desert, but I get way too excited these days about meeting someone to do a Costco run together. #oldandsad.
I did have a fun booknerd moment this week when in the intro and notes on the new book I'm reading (The Cartographers), the author talked about hearing a story that inspired the novel, and I had just heard the same story from John Green's Ted talk, which I watched after the Swipes Bookclub on Anthropocene Reviewed. I would not have watched that Ted talk without that book being a selection for bookclub. So thanks, y'all for making me smarter! https://www.ted.com/talks/john_green_the_nerd_s_guide_to_learning_everything_online?language=en
Our summer is mostly home repairs and moving and then more home repairs, but I am hoping to get in an anniversary trip to the ocean, if at all possible. Late July is a tough time to book something, but I'm working on it. Anyone in CA have a dog-friendly beach rental they can point me towards?
We made a bunch of limoncello a couple weeks ago, so I think our summer cocktail is going to be limoncello and hard selzer, maybe raspberry? I want something light and bubbly when it is 90-bajillion degrees with a side of wildfire smoke.
Looking forward to hearing all your summer plans in the comments!
Do I plan my grocery shopping trips so I can talk to as many of my favorite Trader Joes workers as possible? OF COURSE. And homemade limoncello? Do you have a recipe? I LOVE a good lemon based drink, but making it homemade sounds dreamy!
Hi Dawn! This may be bigger than what you need, but I've stayed at this pet-friendly Airbnb 2 blocks from the beach in Encinitas, CA: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/40896766?source_impression_id=p3_1651871032_jf2%2BQHYtqBn6gOt1
😍 thanks! We'll check it out.
John Green has forever won my heart because of his Anthropocene takes. My kinda nerd!
I too am #oldandsad in my excitement levels and available activities. Sometimes a shopping trip for groceries is all the fun I can find. 🤷🏻♀️
I’d love some non-alcoholic cocktails for summer. Share your faves that can be “converted” if you can!
Same! I thought his essays were so tender-hearted. That guy has gone through a lot and managed to be hopeful on the other side. I'm so glad he met Todd. And his wife.
For mocktails - a lot of my favorites are some combination of juice (I love a good lemonade), tea, and sparkly water. I try different combinations and add garnishes. And a friend of mine found a sparkly grapefruit juice called Fever Tree (I think) which hits that bright/tart/sweet/zippy note, and I love to garnish it with rosemary or lavendar. I haven't tried mixing it with iced tea yet, but I bet it would work. Sort of like an elevated Arnold Palmer. Another one I've been doing is a cran-raspberry juice with sparkly water and a generous squeeze of lime. Sometimes I freeze berries in ice cubes and put those in the glass too. I hope you find some fun things to try - and make sure you use the pretty/fun glasses! That makes a difference, I think. :D
I hope you find a wonderful place for your vacation! :)
I realize this is the season when most parents try to get their kids OFF the screen and into the great outdoors, but AZ summers are a hot hell, so my son and I are determined to develop our Animal Crossing Island into an imaginary paradise. I promised him tickets at the end of the summer. Don't smash our dreams and tell me those dodo birds aren't real pilots.
We are forecasted to hit 100 here in south/central TX this weekend. Game and be blessed.
I live in CA where it can get ugly hot during the summer. I fully endorse your plan.
I grew up in CA where it was ugly hot during the summer. I watched a LOT of tv and read a LOT of books and ate a LOT of ice cream late at night in driveways with my friends during our brief forays into fresh air.
Same for me in Texas! It’s my best reading season because... air-conditioning!
Hey friends! I like to skip church and garden on Mother's Day. I don't mind breakfast in bed or flowers, but I am deeply uncomfortable with churches appropriating a secular observance to uphold a certain ideal of motherhood that is not shared or even available to everyone in their congregation. That's all I'll say about that. 🤪
This summer our oldest is spending five weeks working at camp. Her two younger siblings will be there for a week as campers, so we are very excited about a week at home without the children. Then in August we're going to the Outer Banks for a week with family, and I cannot wait.
Also, my job will be transitioning from part time to fill time in July, and that is stressing me out a little - I haven't worked full time since 2003. It will definitely be a big stretch for all of us, and you'll probably hear more about it.
Have the best weekend available to you! ♥️
The outer banks is always a great time! I haven’t gone to church for Mother’s Day in over 5 years on purpose and will continue that tradition this year as well.
I've been to church on Mother's Day maybe four times in the past twenty years, due to unavoidable obligations.
Your August trip sounds like fun, and maybe it will help ease the stress of the July transition. And how exciting for a kid-free week for you. I hope you luxuriate!