Many of you know that during the school year I am in my “getting-things-done” aka survival mode. My husband often travels for business, I work full time and the kids are at school. Both of them are in extracurricular activities. Most of the year my days are Groundhog Days with very little margin for error and big feelings of overwhelm on my part.

At the moment, I am in my slow- living mode.

🥒 the kids and I are spending our days with water, sun, and green spaces.

🥒 there is no need to rush. Anywhere.

🥒 My daughter learning how to cook on her own volition: she made pancakes/dumplings/salad/tacos.

🥒 I have time. TIME. To have coffee, to read, to think, to clean. To cook. To wash dishes. To garden. To lie on the couch and write this post. To stay up later in the evening. To wake up later in the morning. To sit and chat with a friend. To exercise.

Since my last post, we went down the shore (a very New Jersey expression meaning “go to the beach”). It was cloudy but very warm. In fact, going to the beach when it’s overcast is my preferred weather; this way the sun is not roasting you. We arrived around 9am and left around 1pm.

We have also been frequenting our municipal pool and adjacent splash park. This is a new complex that opened in August of last year. Truly, our city taxes at work. It’s free for city residents, clean, spacious, with plentiful staff (life guards, park monitors, janitors). The sprayers at the splash pad are on sensors- to conserve water.

Reading. I finished “Good Company” by Silvia D’Aprix Sweeney on audio. I enjoyed it, especially that it was read by Marin Ireland. On paper, I picked up “the Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty from the little free library at one of the playgrounds. This one is a hard read. Very cerebral and the language is difficult for me to decipher.

Friend time. I saw two friends! One old, one new.

My friend Kristina (from Rostov) is an old friend that I met at BJJ. Our sons were taking BJJ lessons at the same time. We had salty fish and beer when she came over.

My *new* friend Katya is also Russian. We met last week while our kids were playing at the playground, and turns out, she is from the SAME region I am in Russia. Small world. I am from Chelyabinsk and she is from Yekaterinburg. Yesterday she came over with her daughter for a play date. I made a friend! Now I have to make sure I maintain and nurture that connection.

New Jersey is currently in the grips of a heat wave but it’ll be cooling off by Monday. Today, for example, it’s 101.

I am slowly getting ready for our (second) Italy trip but that deserves its own post. Maybe tomorrow?…

Hope you are having a good week!