If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you know that I practice a quarterly habit of reflection. I started this habit years ago, alongside one of my secret writing mentors, Emily P Freeman, who also had a quarterly reflection post.
In the beginning, it was difficult to figure out what I’m learning in a season. But with practice and a little more presence to my thoughts in real time, it’s become more like second nature.
The great thing about looking back before moving forward is that everything that you notice counts. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering or enlightening. It can be something seemingly simple and everyday. All that matters is that we are regularly practicing paying attention, and we’re really seeing the things we notice.
So, without further ado, here’s some of what I learned in summer 2026, in no particular order.
I bought an air purifier.
And I think I love it. I’ve wanted one for a while, but living overseas meant we’d invest in something just to leave it behind. But after a small round of respiratory sickness for the kids and allergies for me, now felt like a good time. A few hours into running it, I did think the air in the house looked clearer. And I feel like I’m recovering from my allergies better than the day before we bought it. Could be time. Could be the air purifier. I guess we’ll find out.
I appear to be very allergic to some of the weeds in our yard.
We’d let our back yard get a little out of hand, so last weekend Husband and I worked on cleaning it up together. While he worked on the weed eater, I hand-pulled some of the thicker areas. I had red eyes for more than 48 hours and, despite wearing long sleeves, it took days for the rash on my arms to go away. Suffice to say yard work at this house is pretty squarely in my husband’s territory now.
How to sit my butt in the chair, even when I don’t want to.
Motivation is a fickle friend. If I only wrote (or did anything, for that matter) when I was motivated, very little would ever get done. I missed a post last week due to sickness (and, honestly, lack of motivation). I don’t always want to sit down and write. And on those days, I don’t usually write anything worth sharing. Instead, I have a file on my computer where I can just brain dump. It keeps me in the habit of thinking, working, and spending time on writing. Sometimes it amounts to a longer-form post. But mostly it just hangs out.
Tubi is a decent free streaming app.
We watched Mr. Robot a few months ago. Honestly, the commercial breaks were kind of nice. But recently I scrolled through Tubi’s offerings for kids’ shows. I was checking it out, and it’s got some older episodes of Sesame Street that the kids enjoy. I suspect we’ll choose to watch there more often than we did before.
I really enjoyed my daily haiku project over on Instagram.
What started as posting one haiku a day on Instagram for the month of July carried into most of the month of August as well. I missed some days because of sickness and allergies, but I’d like to continue the project at some point.
A lot about melanoma.
See also: UV ratings, sunscreen, and UPF clothing.
PCS content on years we don’t move is harder.
Every year in June I try to write specifically to the military community. Our first PCS was overseas, and I learned so much that I wanted to share all my knowledge and experiences. With three more OCONUS moves under our belts, it still feels important to share what we learn each time. But drumming up content on years we stay put is certainly more challenging.
I can be home alone without the kids.
For the first time this August, both of my kids spent a morning at school. And I was alone. But the alone was different from when they stay home with dad, and I run errands. I came home to get a few things done, and coming home to an empty house was weird. But thankfully not so weird that I was paralyzed all morning.
Potty training kid #2 felt easier than kid #1.
Given their personalities, I was surprised by that. I really thought the youngest would be more headstrong
So many things about the Cars movies.
Mostly the first one, although all three are on almost constant repeat in our house. Usually I’m doing other things while they’re on, but lately when I do look up I’m seeing something I haven’t noticed before. Like Fillmore’s license plate and how it hangs low to look like a goatee. Or the tire tracks that make up the clouds. Or the ticker on the bottom of the news show that talks about McQueen not showing up in Mac to the race – it says “braking news.” I will never not be in awe of the creativity of people.
In a similar vein, Pixar was co-founded by Steve Jobs.
Did I know this at one time? I don’t think so. But maybe.
Do you have a habit of reflection? If you’d like to start one but aren’t sure how to begin, check out this post where I share some insight into how I keep track of what I’m learning. I hope you’ll share something you learned this season!
