Late to the Party? Summer’s Best Is Still Ahead.

Summer’s just getting started.

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Summer is here.

Some of you have known that for a while.

Mine is just getting started.

It took my nervous system until the end of June to begin relaxing, and now that I’m in summer mode, some of my teacher colleagues are ready to gear up for the next school year.

Not a chance. School takes too much, and there’s a month left of summer before I even have to think about the dread that comes with going back to school.

I am reminded once again of the idea that when you tell God your plans, he laughs. And I am continually reminded that control is an illusion.

Is your summer going as planned?

Mine is most definitely not. I survived a tornado and am navigating the repair work to my car, which is a whole story by itself.

While life hasn’t gone as planned, a lot of good has happened. My website has been simplified and redone; my Etsy shop is servicing clients, and I’ve published a couple of coloring books.

That’s all to be celebrated, even if life is going in a different direction than I thought it would.

What’s happening in your world? I’d love to hear about it in your stories.

While you’re considering some of the best and worst of summer, enjoy others’ stories.

Wedding Woes: “We Were Too Fat and the Wrong Kind of Brown” by Debra Anazonwu, Personal Statement Coach

My 30-something daughters’ friend Bushra, a second-generation Pakistani, is finally getting married to her college sweetheart. The bride-to-be has already had a bachelorette party and is planning for three-day Desi wedding festivities. → READ NOW

I Used to Read Strangers for a Living. Here’s What’s Made It Nearly Impossible by Joshua Mason

Every night before bed, my youngest and I watch animal videos. Nothing too long — two or three short clips on Instagram. Two years ago, I never questioned whether what I was watching was real. Now, neither of us is really sure. → READ NOW

All the Things I’m Capable of Doing That Other Women Can’t by Desiree Peralta

I woke up at 6:00 AM and immediately checked my phone, scrolling through comments on my TikTok videos, Instagram posts, YouTube uploads, and Medium articles.

I have accounts on all of these platforms, and I’m able to share my opinions on different topics, to start conversations, and. → READ NOW

The Old Hurt Behind a Modern Exit by Louisa Light

Someone was there. And suddenly they were gone.

No message. No explanation.

No discussion. No moment to state each other’s needs. No chance to sort a misunderstanding. No negotiation possible.

Just gone. → READ NOW

I Wish Someone Had Told Me This Before I Started Traveling by Matt Lillywhite

For years, I’d tell myself I was only going to watch one or two YouTube videos about traveling the world. An hour later, I was still there, watching strangers catch overnight trains, cram everything they owned into a forty-liter backpack, and somehow make traveling across the world look cheaper than staying home. → READ NOW

The Velveteen Rabbit: A Children’s Story About Becoming Real by Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW, RSW

It began with a conversation in therapy. My client Frank has spent decades surviving. Twenty years sober after heroin addiction, covered in tattoos that once served as armor, he is now confronting something far more terrifying than withdrawal ever was. → READ NOW

How Ted Lasso Eased the Sting of Being Underestimated by Crystal Jackson

I’ve never understood why so many people have underestimated me. This has been particularly apparent in jobs over the years. It’s like they looked at my resume and decided that I could do some things but not others. The pre-judgment wouldn’t have stung so much if → READ NOW

The Psychology of People Who Can’t (and Won’t) Take No For an Answer by Vickey Maverick

I was born to parents who never could say no. They still aren’t able to. Their inability to refuse has put the entire family in an awkward predicament more often than not. Having observed them over the years, → READ NOW

Your Bedroom Is A Map of Your Mind by Argumentative Penguin

Most of us subscribe to the notion that we are fixed. We know what we are. When pushed to describe themselves, most people will talk about their internal processes or behaviours. They believe themselves to be an interesting collection of bones and viscera with a person nestled somewhere in the middle. → READ NOW

Large Companies Are Missing Out On An Attention Goldmine by Aaron Nichols

Marketing lives and dies on our ability to tell people about stuff. If you have a way to tell a lot of people about stuff whenever you want through a channel that you own, marketing is much easier. Who’s with me so far? → READ NOW

Wounded Children Walk Around in Adult Bodies by Gee

You’ve sat across from someone like this. Maybe you’re related to them. Maybe you married one. The person who will ruin every close relationship they have and never once consider that they might be the common denominator. Not because they’re evil. → READ NOW

Why Do We Envy Wealthy Nations While Ignoring How They Treat Women? by Jules Vela

Who gets to define what “developed” means? Who gets to define culture? I don’t think these questions even need to be said out loud. The answers are already obvious. → READ NOW

I Went Back to the Place Where It All Fell Apart — This time Alone by Hudirudi 🐞

I took a week off to create new memories in the very place where it all began with my former partner.

To sum it up: after six years — starting with what felt like a dream — the mask began to slip around the two-year mark. My life in that partnership turned into a relentless cycle of → READ NOW

Regardless of what’s going on this summer, I hope you are happy and healthy.

Sending healthy wishes, Nicole