May 19, 2026
Summer Has Entered the Chat
The windows are open and so’s that door, flung open wide to all the GREEN of the forest just beyond my kitchen, home to cardinals, sparrows, very loud robins, and sometimes finches and a ruby throated kinglet, among others. (Can you tell that I recently downloaded the Merlin app?) Summer weather has arrived after a chilly spring, and I’ve even had my first dip of the year in Lake Ontario yesterday, which is not to say that it was pleasant. The porch has finally been tidied, hostas planted in the pots by the door, and while I’m still waiting for green shoots to emerge and worrying that this is the year my seeds won’t grow, it’s nice enough to sit outside and at this specific moment in time, for the first time in YEARS, there doesn’t seem to be a construction site around my house (at least not YET) to ruin the breezy vibe outside.
I’ve taken Instagram off my phone after three months of enjoying it for book promo purposes. And enjoy it, I did. I’ve actually determined that the problem with Instagram, for me, isn’t a problem in extraordinary moments, and in the last three months there’s been so much to share and celebrate. But instead social media drains the meaning from the quotidian for me, turning it into content instead of lived reality, and it means I get unattached from it all, more attached to how it looks on a screen instead. Perhaps the difference with the extraordinary moments is that I’m never going to be altogether attached to them, that they’re always going to feel a little unreal, and capturing and sharing helps me remember that it happened. But with, just say, that light on my kitchen table, or the way the breeze feels in my hair just now, my job is to be present, to go deeper, just to be.
And that is my job now too as book promo season is winding down and I have some time to breathe, to stop. (To sleep!) To ease into summer, although I don’t know if it’s ease because I’ve been so busy these last few months that summer has arrived abruptly (and the weather really has!) and my children need new clothes and shoes, and it’s a lot. I’m tired, and everything is a lot. Although at least the hammock in my backyard is finally set-up, which is perfect.
It’s the time of year where my kitchen is redolent with lilacs from several backyards over, and everything seems like a miracle.
