Confessions of a Middle-Aged, Married Couple

I am so angry. Just so angry. I’m so angry that no one can tell me what’s wrong. I’m so angry that when I got a new doctor she immediately sent me to a neurologist who immediately sent me to a cardiologist who immediately sent me to a imaging center. I’m so angry that I was in an epilepsy unit for five full days and had no incidents at all and then had a seizure on my deck within four hours of coming home.

I took the kids back to school shopping last week. So, now I’m poor. I have taken my kids back to school shopping every year they’ve ever been in school. I know we can order online, but there’s something nostalgic and sweet about picking out a day, waking up early, grabbing breakfast somewhere, fighting for a parking spot at the outlets, shopping around, eating lunch at the food court, maybe getting a Starbucks drink, shopping around some more, and then coming home tired.

Michael finished band camp last week. Two weeks full of new music, new sections, and old friends. I was pretty amazed by him. He was up and at the football stadium by 8am every day, all on his own. And he didn’t get home until 5:00 or so every afternoon. Given that the average high last week was 94, not factoring in any humidity, that was pretty impressive. On Friday night, there was the annual Band Parent meeting at 6:00, followed by the band marching show sneak peak at 7:00.

In early May, I was driving home from the beach late in the afternoon. I had a car full of Gracie and her girlfriends and we were coming home from a birthday beach day. All the girls had spent the night the night before, so I had been up late. After a long day at the beach on top of that, I was exhausted. So exhausted that as I was coming off the interstate ramp about 5 minutes from my house, I fell asleep while I was driving.

I’m supposed to be on vacation in New Orleans right now, but we had to cancel our trip because of some health issues going on. So instead, we’ve been home this week trying desperately to cling to the last days of summer before the kids jump back into school and real life. Clinging to summer for me looks like this… Following Gracie around swiping my debit card while we shop for back to school clothes and supplies.

I have some things going on with my health that I am not quite ready to talk about, except to share that the last week has been exhausting. Emotionally, mentally, physically. So, it was sort of a blessing in disguise that my doctor suggested that I not travel this next week. We had planned a family road trip that would begin this weekend with a birthday party in Pensacola for Chris’s grandmother’s 90th birthday. Then we were going to spend the next week in New Orleans.

I get asked for product recommendations pretty often, so I thought I’d share a few things I’ve genuinely been loving lately. None of these are sponsored. They’re just things I’ve bought, used, and would absolutely buy again. L’Oréal Lumi Glotion - 10/10. Highly recommend. My spellcheck just changed “glotion” to “glow shit,” and honestly...I feel like it really gets me. This stuff is amazing if you don’t wear a lot of makeup.

That’s it. That’s the whole post.

I get asked all the time how I read so many books. The short answer is that I neglect my family. I’m kidding. Mostly. The truth is, I don’t think I have any magical ability to read faster than anyone else. I haven’t figured out how to squeeze more hours into the day. I’ve just built behaviors and patterns in my life around reading that add up over time. Ironically, the biggest thing I learned came from Gracie, who somehow manages to read even more than I do. She reads the same book two different ways.

This week I thought I’d do something a little different. Instead of writing about parenting or Stanley or my life philosophies, I want to share some of the tiny systems that make my everyday life run just a little smoother. None of these are life-changing. But together, they make life feel lighter. Let’s start with my car. I spend a ridiculous amount of time in it. Driving to work. Running errands. Waiting in pickup lines. Driving to see friends. Road trips. Grocery runs.