August 2020: Recap + On My Shelves
I'd expected August to be another productive month, but instead... I hit a wall. I had no motivation or energy and just didn't get very much done. And that's okay! We still had some fun family adventures, even with my weird mood.
1. Six Months of Our Baby Boy – We adore our baby boy, but we joke about how he's got a sweet and sour personality. He's so happy... until he isn't. And he'll let you know when he reaches that point! August marked six months since his birth, and I can't believe it's already been that long. I love looking back his baby book and writing down sweet things I want to remember, like the way he covers his eyes with his hands when he drinks a bottle.
2. Walking the Dinosaur Trail – Last year, I took my big boy to a nearby trail that had giant foam dinosaurs along the path. It was the perfect local adventure. He mentioned at the time that he wanted to go back with Daddy, too, so I put it on our 20 in 2020 list. We headed out one one August morning that was a little overcast and not quite as hot but were sad to discover that all the dinosaurs were gone. We still had fun, but it was definitely a bummer!
3. Sweetest Brothers – Throughout the month, I write down possibilities for this section of my recap in my blogging notebook. And I typically go through my camera roll, too! I'd planned to write about taking my big boy on a date to the bookstore and to get a Starbucks treat, but I apparently never took a photo. What I do have a million photos of, however, are these two boys cuddling, playing, and making each other laugh. It's one of my favorite things ever.
4. Learning to Swim – We hadn't thought much about swim lessons before, and then I kept putting it off because he hated his face getting wet. But when I read about how dangerous puddle jumpers can be, we immediately signed him up for ISR self-rescue lessons, which teaches kids to swim and float. The lessons last ten minutes a day, five days a week, for 4-6 weeks. It's a commitment, but we're so thankful we did it. He's a swimmer now!
Read 12 Books | Favorites:
Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
The Comeback by Ella Berman
“You’ve always been the one who was brave—no, the one who was sure.
You’ve always been so sure of the story you want me to tell,
the story you’ve been asking me for since we were seventeen:
The story about the things that happened while I was asleep.
'It’s your story,' you would say. 'If you don’t let it out, it will take over your life.'
But the story is mine only as the victim owns the prosecution, or the whale the harpoon.
Telling it has always been the privilege of the perpetrators, who have the actual facts,
and of the bystanders—like you—who believe they know.”
True Story by Kate Reed Petty
“Maybe that’s the definition of nostalgia:
getting sappy about things that are supposed to be insignificant.”
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon
“Do not become the ones who hurt you. Stay tender with your power. Never fight to injure, fight to uplift.
Fight because you know that in this life, you deserve safety, joy, and freedom.
Fight because it is your life. Not anyone else’s. I did it, I am here.
Looking back, all the ones who doubted or hurt or nearly conquered me faded away,
and I am the only one standing. So now, the time has come. I dust myself off, and go on.”
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
“When I listened to her, I understood: You have to hold out to see how your life unfolds,
because it is most likely beyond what you can imagine. It is not a question of if you will survive this,
but what beautiful things await you when you do. I had to believe her, because she was living proof.
Then she said, Good and bad things come from the universe holding hands. Wait for the good to come.”
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
“We force her to think hard about what this will mean for his life,
even though he never considered what his actions would do to her.”
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
“People do what they have to in this life. We try to get from one end of it to the other
with dignity and with honor. We do the best we can.”
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
“I didn't want to accept that in order to move forward, I had to walk through it.
It was so much easier just to believe there was another path I could take around it
and that at the end of that path would be the destination I wanted.
It would be easier to want to end up at a lie, instead of the truth.”
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
“We shouldn’t judge food until we try it.
Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s less delicious.
Same goes for people.”
A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
“You can desire things that someone else doesn't.
You can struggle with something that gives someone else joy.
You can care about what matters to you even if it doesn't matter to someone else,
and we can all lovingly and compassionately exist together in that tension.”
The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
“Was a person like Merry born with her character, or had it been built up brick-by-brick
by people who taught her to choose the good, the kind, and the true?”
Old Lovegood Girls by Gail Godwin
“We were always living different versions of the same story.”
The Comeback by Ella Berman
Y'all, I don't know what happened to me in August! I'd had all this motivation previously and was doing great meeting my goal of blogging at least twice per week, and then it all went out the window. I was a little annoyed at myself because I wasn't in the mood to read or blog or do much of anything. Oh well! Because of that, I only shared five blog posts. I started the month with my July 2020 Recap and followed it up with my August 2020 Goals. I was excited to talk about what I'd read with my July 2020 Quick Lit Part One and Part Two, and then I shared what my sister, Caroline, read in Tales & Tiger Lily: July 2020. I drafted several other blog posts but didn't finish any of them. The creative thoughts were there, but I didn't see them through. September is a fresh start, thankfully.
Favorite Album: EMMA. (Soundtrack) by Isobel Waller-Bridge and David Schweitzer
I will forever and always love the instrumental soundtracks for my favorite costume dramas.
I will forever and always love the instrumental soundtracks for my favorite costume dramas.
The one for Emma was no exception! I loved the movie and the music.
The Great British Bake Off, Seasons 7-9, starring Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig – I don't know why I find this show as soothing and as comforting as I do, especially since I don't even enjoy baking personally, but I know that I'm not alone. There's something about it that is just so endearing! I love that it's filmed in a tent, the camaraderie between the contestants, and the creativity of these amateur bakers. I wasn't in the mood to read or blog, but binging several seasons of this show was just what I needed. Highly recommend!
Book of the Month: The Comeback by Ella Berman, True Story by Kate Reed Petty, and The Unbecoming of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan
Bookstore & Pre-Orders: Act Like It by Lucy Parker, Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin, We Are Not Free by Traci Chee, A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan, The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi, The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall, The Exiles by Christine Baker Kline, Educated by Tara Westover, and Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Used Bookstore: The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden and The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue by Karina Yan Glaser, Most Likely by Sarah Watson, The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez, Long Bright River by Liz Moore, The Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel, Things in Jars by Jess Kidd, Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan, Sunburn by Laura Lippman, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
Gifted: Lost Souls at the Neptune Inn by Betsy Carter
Audible: Igniting Darkness by Rovin LaFevers and Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Hooray for swimming lessons! And for your two boys being so sweet together <3
ReplyDelete