Whew…What I Learned in July

You know how you go on “vacation” and think, Sure! I’ll blog every day!  And then you go on vacation and don’t blog at all because you’re holed up in a hotel room trying to do naps and sleeps and meals and pools and do all the fun things? And, of course, because you’re gone FOR AN ETERNITY you still have to do things like grocery shopping and laundry and then you’re in the car for 40 hours (no joke) and you just don’t even really think about the fact that blogs or computers exist, really?

Yeah, that totally didn’t happen to me…

Moving right along, how is it that July is over?  I mean, let’s face it.  I’m pretty sure it’s about the 27th of May right about now.  I have lost two entire months of my life, and I don’t know how.

BUT I did learn things this month.  Several things being actual real-life learning experiences (as opposed to learning something by reading an article online, which I enjoy very much, especially since this month’s learning experiences were somewhat traumatic…)

Linking up with Emily (who has a new book coming out later this month!) at Chatting at the Sky.  Here goes…

1.  I learned that drowning really is silent.  I mentioned this in my last post, but it bears repeating.  Isla jumped in sans flotation device, and we heard nary a splash nor scream.  Both Tahd and I were in the pool and had turned to speak to Gabe for a moment, and in a second she sneaked in that one little jump that could have ended up much, much worse.  Kids and water have always been a nerve-wracking combination to me, but I think we got a bit used to Gabe, who is cautious and not a risk-taker.  He went many years refusing to jump at all, even if we caught him! It is hard to adjust and anticipate all the ways in which the younger two will be different.  In the area of safety, Gabe definitely made things easy on us!

staples

 

2.  I learned that scalp wounds do not typically get stitches – they get staples.  Isla strikes again, this time seeming to decide she could fly, only to realize (after a short leap and a big bang) that she can’t.  The good news is that one could have been a lot worse, too, but wasn’t.  She had no concussion and no skull fractures and was more brave and compliant than I imagined possible.  Staples come out later this week.

3.  I learned that to make a family trip successful, we need to get hotel suites, not hotel rooms.  We need one room for sleepers and one room for the awake people. Seriously – praise the good Lord that there are hotels like this, because after a 17-day trip, I would have lost my mind.  One room was workable when there were just three of us.  I think it would still be workable with 5 if the younger 3 were close in age and had similar sleep/wake patterns.  But 5 people with different sleep/energy patterns don’t mesh well in one room for days on end, especially when you throw in sibling squabbles.  Lucky for us, the suite was the same price as a single room, so it all worked out in the end.

nashvilleathens

4.  I learned that Nashville is also called the Athens of the South.  Apparently it was a super-educated, super-cultured, and super sophisticated city when it earned its nickname in the 1800s.  We visited for the first time in July and loved it! I expect we’ll be back.  Especially since my sister and her family just moved to the area. 😉

5.  The cause of addiction – substance, behavioral, or otherwise – may really be caused more by loneliness and disconnection than anything else.  The implications of this blow my mind.

gutbacteria

6.  The bacteria in my gut might explain my mood.  And I might be able to effect change to the status of my mental and emotional health by changing my gut biome. The implications of this one blew my mind, too.  I fell down a deep Google rabbit hole for quite some time.

I’m really hoping my learning in August takes on a more gentle form…What did you learn this month?

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