Season 19

Last year’s volunteer zinnia reminds me of the Polar Bear variety I noticed in my seed catalog

Graduation announcements are starting to arrive in our mailbox as we get close to the end of the year. As I read about the plans of these soon-to-be graduates and trace over the embossed invitations with my finger, I’m reflecting back on that time in my life.

I couldn’t wait to leave high school. I literally had a calendar up in our high school student council office marking off the days to graduation. I didn’t know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do, so I chose a university with a lake nearby, a scholarship for my first year, and a location near, but not in, a big city. My hometown of Austin, Texas, was much smaller back then. At the time those reasons were enough to choose the path for my next four years.

My university was a few hours away from the city where I lived my entire young life. I thought moving a few hours away would be a taste of something new without being too far from home. In hindsight, I would have been braver, choosing somewhere new and exciting. I had my sights on San Diego, California, at one point which would have probably been a great choice for me for plenty of reasons, not the least of them being plenty of sunshine. At the time, I worried that it would be too expensive flying back and forth, but to be honest, I rarely came home for more than a visit or two during the semester. I always made it home for holidays and during the summer to take a class or two at the local community college so that I could graduate in four years.

The school I chose ended up being mostly a commuter school with everyone heading home to their families on the weekends. It was a tough first semester not knowing anyone except for the one person I barely knew from Austin. My roommate was gone all of the time to see her boyfriend in the next town over. In true introvert style, I took my time in reaching out to make friends. There were plenty of misses and loneliness in those first months, but by the end of my second year I met several great friends. By year three, I was already making plans to come back to Austin as I had reunited with my high school boyfriend (and now husband of 17 years). I finished up my fourth year at a university here in Austin.

I think back to those years with a lot of regret actually. Yes, I had a lot of fun (way too much in fact), but that time came with a striving to belong. Striving to belong is exhausting and caused me to stop listening to my intuition and live from a place of either inauthenticity or anxiety. I think back to those years wondering what I might have done differently had I fully embraced who I am. I could have spent time traveling, reading great books, writing, pushing the limits of comfort and exploring the world, meeting new people, or living in new places in my own and sometimes quiet, quirky, and curious way.

It took me until my late thirties to really settle into who I am. When I did finally cross into my forties, I began to feel the calm that comes with truly being myself. I stopped caring so much about what others thought and felt emboldened by living my life according to the wisdom I gained over time. The wisdom that was there all along hidden by years of armor. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the lessons I learned in my youth, I just think that sometimes when we are young we get too carried away with what we think we need to be doing without a real sense of who we are.

After college, I started making up for lost time. I tried out several careers and continued learning skills by working as a website designer, at a chamber of commerce, as an elementary teacher, a mom (which will always be my favorite role in life), a food blogger, a family yoga teacher, a watercolor and collage artist, and now I’m back to writing a blog. I picked up skills in each one of these areas. We’ve traveled like crazy every summer except last summer (I’m wishing now that we had done more international travel in the wake of this pandemic!)

As I fill out these graduation cards and think of these new graduates, I am reminded of the graduation speech by Denzel Washington to *FALL FORWARD.

If we expect to grow as human beings, we have to push the limits and try new things, we have to be vulnerable, ask for help, be willing to step outside of what is mainstream, and lean in on intrinsic motivation. If we want life to move in a different direction, we must take the small steps to make it happen. We need to be ready to grab that baton of opportunity or wisdom and move forward or extend it to someone who needs it most. We don’t need to do it alone, but we must put in the hard work to get there.

I’m listening to the book Work in Progress by Leanne and Steve Ford, and there are so many gems in there about why it is important for us to just keep trying new things. I’m lucky to have had the support of my family to be creative and use my failures as learning opportunities.

In the book, Steve Ford talks about his “mirror goals” and how he would write a date on a post-it on his mirror as a goal to work towards. He shares the many successes and failures throughout his life that shaped who he is today.

Leanne Ford mentions in the book the need for moxie and trying new things for your ENTIRE life. She emphasizes that we are all works in progress (hence the title). Being a multi-passionate person is not a flaw, but an opportunity to take that thirst for knowledge and put it to work even if that means changing course several times in your life.

I think this is all great life advice for anyone starting out life on their own, beginning a new adventure or graduating from high school or college. Forge your own path.

If you’re looking to get those graduates off on the right foot, here are a few idea lists to get you started.

Gifts for Graduates List on Etsy ($)

Why not give that recent grad a head start on financial know how BEFORE the credit card offers and student loans start rolling in? Gift that new grad a year’s membership to YNAB (You Need a Budget) ($)

Books for new graduates

*If you see an asterisk next to a link, it links to a video with sound. Just a heads-up in case you need to turn the volume down or pop on your headphones.

($) If you see this dollar symbol in a post, the link is an affiliate post. I will receive income or a discount on products if you purchase that item on Bookshop.org or anything on the Etsy or Prana website using my link. Income from the products in these links helps me to keep this blog growing.

HOME

Our cut-flower garden is lush with green and every color of the rainbow

It’s already warm and humid here in Central Texas. The fireflies are beginning to make their appearance and the mosquitoes are moving in with all the rain we’re having. Rain and flooding are pretty typical in Central Texas in May just ahead of the tropical storm and hurricane season which kicks off in early June.

Where most areas receive April showers and May flowers, our flower season kicks off in April with heavy rains making their appearance in May. With everything growing, my grass and tree allergies have me limiting my time outside right now. Luckily everything is on auto-pilot in the garden for the most part right now besides weeding and watering when it isn’t raining.

With more time inside temporarily, I’m using this time to work on self-care and spring cleaning. I’ve compiled a list of items that are helping me prepare for summer. I’ll share some of my favorites in the weeks to come, so make sure you take a second to subscribe to this blog so that you don’t miss out. Look for the subscribe button at the end of this post.

GARDEN

Fever few in bloom led me to a search for a recipe for feverfew tea

Late spring feels more like summer around Central Texas and requires a little more grit in the garden. It’s hot, it’s buggy, and we’re prone to flooding in May. It is also beautiful and exploding with color and life!

A mix of flowers attract pollinators and brighten the garden. Climbing beans, snap peas, Swiss chard, and cucamelons taking off up the maypole are making our kitchen garden dance with whimsy.

This week in the garden I pruned the tomatoes again to create more airflow at the bases. We’ve been harvesting our blackberries and strawberries daily. A smart mockingbird built a nest nearby for a non-stop buffer of berries. Luckily we have plenty to share. My son is out there every day bringing in ripe berries and eating them with whipped cream. Spring in a bowl!

We’re noticing lots of little blossoms on the cucumber and melon vines as well as increased growth with the rain and warmer temperatures. While I don’t want to rush into summer temperatures, I’m looking forward to the bounty of the garden.

Strawberries, peppers and melons share this garden bed with a backdrop of blackberries and raspberries

WELLNESS

Sometimes getting older feels like steeling yourself against what comes next and sometimes it feels like practicing letting go over and over again. Difficult times require more infusions of lightness and laughter. For me that means more time reading, working out, dancing, spending time in the garden, and finding the beauty in the simple things in life. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and below I’m sharing a few resources in case they might be helpful to you or someone you love.

*Invisible Illness and Healing (from one of my favorite YouTube channels, The Cottage Fairy)

*#40 Happy Occident: Reasons to Stay Alive - Why happiness doesn’t sell, but we don’t have to buy that!

*How to Rally On a Bad Day - I’m also a fan of a quick nap ;)

*Living, But Not Flourishing - How to find your flow again

If one of the videos made a difference to you, share in the comments below what resonated with you or what you are doing right now to add lightness in your life.

CREATIVITY

*Mitchells vs. The Machines on Netflix - We watched this gem of a movie together as a family recently. The theme of supporting divergent thinkers and creatives really hit home for me.

BOOKSHELF

Finished: The Downstairs Girl ($) by Stacey Lee and Work in Progress ($) by Leanne and Steve Ford

Reading: Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man ($) by Emmanuel Acho and Jayber Crow ($) by Wendell Berry

Listening to: We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True ($) By Gabrielle Union

Up next: Garvey’s Choice ($) by Nikki Grimes, and The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together ($) by Heather McGhee

In case you are looking for book recommendations for kids (or yourself!), gift ideas for all ages or want to peek into my TBR List for 2021, head over to the 52 Seasons Book Shop on Bookshop.org.

COMMUNITY

Project Backboard is bringing a little more joy to communities one basketball court at a time.

If you need a little heartfelt community-minded series to dive into right now, give Hometown Takeover a watch. It brings tears to my eyes every episode. I just love it when people are working together towards a common goal.

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Desmond Tutu

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read 52 Seasons. I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas so that we can grow together.

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