Weekend: Little bright spots

I love June. I call it the “Friday night of summer” — and it tends to be beautiful in this part of the world. Our roses are blooming. The honeysuckle is too. The baby slept at least six hours at a stretch overnight all three nights this weekend and so I feel like a new person. My husband also took on most of the naps, which still require an adult’s capacity as the baby will only nap in a sling/carrier. He has realized that he can strap the kid into the Ergo, and then disappear into his office to deal with his inbox for an hour. I enjoy being able to move around the house unencumbered. There is much that has been frustrating about the last few months (not to mention the depressing news of the past few days), but I have been grateful for this experience of having him fully around (24/7!) for this baby’s infancy. This week would have been an annual gathering he winds up off in Europe for, generally Sunday night to Friday. This year he spent Sunday night reading book 7 of Harry Potter with our 8-year-old, and he will be done by dinner every night.

I managed to get tickets for one of the local zoos’ drive-through safari on Sunday. I thought it was cute. They set up a dozen stations in the parking lot with different animals, and you could drive past, seeing turtles, snakes, donkeys, a bald eagle. Then the exit route went past the giraffe exhibit so we saw those too. Since I’d billed it as a “safari” my 13-year-old was wildly unimpressed (I think he imagined something like the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom) but after having zero activities for three months it was fun to see something. We went for our regular weekend hike at a nearby park, and then got Rita’s.

I spent a lot of time on Legos too. The 10-year-old and I are now on bag 10 of 13 in the giant Yoda set. We may finish this week!

I don’t usually set monthly goals, and my aspirations for June are pretty limited. I want to get a little more ahead on my podcasts so I don’t have to worry about recordings during our beach weeks. I will lay the ground work for the launch of The New Corner Office: How the most successful people work from home (my ebook) in July. And I will try to enjoy June. In Off the Clock, I talk about looking around and noticing “I am not unhappy now.” Getting all the kids in the car to get to the zoo at the appointed time was a reminder of how stressful that is. The 5-year-old shut himself in the closet, yelling because none of his favorite pairs of Minecraft underwear were clean (we are a bit behind on laundry…but after many loads this weekend we are back to current). My husband wound up carrying him, kicking, out to the van as I grabbed his shoes. But this morning he was all snuggly, so we lay on the couch and talked about how he’d like some books on sharks that he could try reading. It was a nice way to end the weekend and start the week.

18 thoughts on “Weekend: Little bright spots

  1. The Friday night of summer- I love that! June does have a fun sense of anticipation and possibility.
    We have had an awesome weekend, staying in a fully-outfitted treetop cabin. Cooking etc was annoying and it was way too hot, but the kids loved the novelty of it. We are getting nice weather (Norway, so no one takes it for granted) and have been outside so much.
    I love the idea of the safari- sounds fun!

    1. @Sarah – yes June in Norway is special — coming into the solstice and the long light. Definitely not something to take for granted.

      1. To tell people how you think they should think and what they should do (or not do) and make judgements about them is not helpful for anybody at all.

    1. Sites like Laura’s help people to elevate their emotional states. Those with elevated emotional states are better able to find solutions, small or large. We’re all better off elevating our emotional states.

    2. Yep, and tone-deaf is putting it mildly. Wow, “the news” doesn’t cover it. I’m happy to get my time management advice elsewhere. Adios, Laura. I hope your conscience is screaming about this and that someday soon you listen.

  2. Indeed. I rarely comment, but even a blog about something else entirely cannot ignore what’s happening right now. I appreciate your tips on time management but unfortunately cannot keep reading.

  3. I think this is a good thing to practice — “I am not unhappy now.” Even when things are rough, there are moments that are better than others.

  4. Agree with the other commenters. The incredible tone deafness of this, and reflecting on the serenity you have right now when so many others in the US do not have that same luxury just demonstrates your privilege in ignoring the ‘depressing news’. As so many other bloggers/influencers are doing right now it would be helpful to hear what you are doing as an white individual and as a mother of 5 to ensure that your children do not grow up with the same prejudices as we have. How are you working to be anti-racist?There is no such thing as being apolitical right now.

    1. I agree with the other posters-I’m pretty shocked by how incredibly tone deaf and off-putting this blog post is. Never commented on here before but this needs to be called out.

    2. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to be “political.” But everyone was SO upset on June 1, and it was just stunning to read this with no acknowledgement of how unsettled everyone else felt.

  5. I really appreciate your site, Laura. I come here for productivity/time management advice, and you are always helpful. I do not expect you to be the authority on all issues. Please be well, and thank you for your thoughts and contributions.

  6. My college poli sci professor said politics is, at its core, “who gets what.” You may have the intention to “stay out of politics” but it’s impossible given the fact that we are all giving — time, attention, resources — towards certain things at the expense of others. Your lack of real support for Black people is telling; this is an unfollow for me.

  7. Laura, thank you for providing a “little bright spot” on the internet. I came here because I enjoy your writing; I find it uplifting, and today is no exception. No matter how hard things are in the world right now, we all still need a little bright spot. I believe we are all dealing with this in our own way, which cannot be dictated by another.

  8. I read all the responses about the post being tone def and had to think about it for a week to gather my thoughts. I am a long time reader of this blog who is also apologetically black and honestly, the post did not surprise me. I am well aware that Laura is conservative although not infuriatingly so and following her is one of the ways I diversify my feed. I would be happy for her to post about racial justice but only if she considered it important enough to do the work and learn; anything else will just ring hollow and maybe upset some of her conservative readers without moving the needle. There is room for growth in all of us so I am not unfollowing unless she posts something crazy like my formerly loved JK Rowlings who decided to pick a fight on things she knows nothing about 🙁

  9. Did anyone notice that the post is titled “Little Bright Spots?” Key word is little and I give a huge kudos to Laura for posting about finding happy moments in our lives. If we (parents especially) are stuck in a cycle of negativity – no matter what is going on in the world – it negatively impacts our children. Mental health is often overlooked in an effort to appease the masses, and I for one am grateful to Laura for encouraging us to pause and give thanks for the little things, which in turn makes us much more effective in dealing with the bigger things. Shame on the haters who assume she lacks empathy for BLM or any other issue – posting about an attitude of gratitude is neither racist, privileged or entitled.

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