End of June | 2025
A monthly collection of mundane magics
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Today's post has a quick reflection, followed by the end-of-the-month collection of mundane magic moments, links I loved, books I finished, and what I'm looking forward to in July. The sections are clearly marked, so feel free to jump ahead.
We had our first full week of summer vacation last week, and I completely forgot to post anything. We had a heat wave and some rain, so we haven't been outside as much as I hoped, but we've still got two whole months of summer for that, and I plan to enjoy them.
I'm really loving this summer so far. It's been much less overwhelming for me than the last few years, and I'm generally feeling pretty well. The transition to both kids being home all day has had some bumps, but mostly it's been really nice, and I can't wait for more.
✨️ Mundane Magics ✨️
Gatorade: This isn't sponsored and might seem silly, but because of my POTS and the steep increase in temperature at the beginning of the month, I decided to try alternating Gatorade with my water. I often struggle to drink enough to stay hydrated and feeling well, especially when it's really hot and humid. I don't actually like Gatorade all that much (though it's better than other electrolyte drinks I've tried) but I DO like not feeling awful and actually being able to do things! I'm keeping it stocked for the summer.
Craft club: Early this month was the first time in so long that both of my closer friends made it to craft club, and I had the best time. My other friend, who I met through craft club, brought a couple gifts for my kids; she also had the idea to donate a basket from our craft club to the library the next time they hold a raffle, and she brought some of the things she's thinking of contributing to the basket to let us see, and it was all just so nice.
Going to school with Sybil: There was a family day this month where we got to help Sybil build a diorama and then do a scavenger hunt. On one of the last days, they had a kindergarten celebration where the teacher played a slideshow with photos from throughout the year with Let Them Be Little and also My Wish by Rascal Flatts playing in the background, so naturally I cried the whole time.
Naming the spider in the window: I'm trying to get more comfortable with the less cute and cuddly creatures around the house, so when a gigantic nursery web spider moved into the space between my bedroom window and its screen, I decided to name her to help deal with my fear. I asked for help choosing the name and Sybil and Jon both contributed. We called her Professor Mildred Spooky. I was actually a little sad when she vacated the premises after a few days.1
CSA boxes: We got our first CSA box early this month! There are lots of greens so far (because upstate New York) but also a really great variety already — we even got some strawberries! and mint! — and I got to try a couple of different things I've never had before. Garlic scapes are a new favourite. Planning the menu around the produce is a bit challenging in some ways but I'm also enjoying it, and I've managed to prep or freeze anything we weren't getting to right away so far. I think knowing the produce comes from the labour of people in our community really helps encourage me to waste as little as possible. Plus, it's all absolutely delicious.
Pride: I won't go on about this forever since I already wrote about it here, but my first Pride celebration was wonderful. There's really a lovely kind of camaraderie. When we got there, the people parked behind us started applying bug spray, which we had forgotten to pack, and I said “that's what we forgot!” and immediately received an offer to let us use it. It was a small thing, but it really set the tone for the day for me. They also helped point us in the right direction for the entrance (which was less obvious than we expected) and then we immediately ran into Jon's aunt as we were walking in. It all just felt really right.
Peonies: We didn't even know we had these the first couple of years we lived here. We got exactly one bloom for the first time last year, and this year there were five!
Kitchen reno: It has begun! We've lived in our house for almost 4 years now and are finally moving the kitchen over to the space we originally intended to use, and I couldn't be more excited. This project will be the first domino in a bunch of changes that will help make the house more functional for us. Jon has done all the demo himself and will be working on wiring and a gas line for the stove next (with help). It feels so good to have very obvious visual progress.
Night watching: I've been looking out my bedroom window around dusk and in the early dark, and watching bats and fireflies. A couple times, Sybi was up late enough to watch with me and was utterly delighted.
Last day of school ice cream: Our beginning and end of the school year ritual is going out for ice cream. It's like an opening and closing ceremony for summer, and I love it.
A summer haircut and Oren's first salon wash: Sybi went a bit shorter this time and Oren saw her getting her hair washed and wanted to join in.
Summer days so far: We're trying to be a bit more intentional with screen time, and we've started keeping the TV off most of the day and watching a movie or two in the evenings as a family most days. Our new favourite is KPOP Demon Hunters, on Netflix. It's got humour and depth, and the songs are super catchy. I've also been enjoying some nostalgic movies and music (inspired by a couple of posts in the links below!). Now that Sybi's home for the summer, we're going to the library and once a week, and as much as is possible with the weather, the kids have been playing outside. I'm working on reading and some projects here and there, and the kids have been doing things like drawing and building a lot as well.
The NY Faerie Festival: This is one of my favourite things every year, and this year we got to go with Jon's dad! The kids and I donned colorful clothes and shimmery freckles (I'm working on convincing Jon to dress up with us next year) and we met faeries and trolls and a unicorn and a dragon, and we got trinkets from a bunch of people and a poem from Mother Crane. Oren danced with the faeries in a sea of bubbles — which is basically his idea of heaven — and the whole thing was very magical. (The head and body aches after were worth it.)
Links I Loved
I loved this piece about ways to care for yourself over the summer by
, and her coastal grandmother playlist is a new go-to for me and the kids.- followed up the above piece with her own post on how to have an analog summer which inspired me to, among other things, make my own nostalgic movies list! I already had a few in mind thanks to Brittany's playlist, but this spurred me to start collecting them in a note so I wouldn't forget.
A hopeful and motivating piece about our pending societal collapse and restorative alternatives by
. Gabrielle's writing has been so helpful for me because I worry a lot about the future:
Something else is possible, and it begins when we stop treating collapse as the end of the story. So I’m writing this as a kind of personal and communal reorientation.
- compiled a bunch of great pieces on neurodivergence here for Neurokind, and it's not too late to be a part of their collaborative weaving project!
This piece by
about the cost of transformation really resonated with me:
Perhaps, at times, transformation feels linear, but perhaps, at other times, it can feel like this: Like a cicada, you become this creature with a form shaped by a process the rest of the world didn’t seem to track in real time. You become a physical record of long cycles that defy quick understanding. You transform, yes. You become something. Your whole being remembers the duration: the intervals, the conditions, the timing that the rest of the world did not see. The memory of it all is recorded in your wings, your movement, your presence: But even after you rise and you learn to fly, you may start to wonder: will the world even know what to do who I've become?
Books I Finished
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune: A rare sequel that I loved just as much as the first book (The House in the Cerulean Sea). It was so nice to return to this world. If you love queer rep and found family and stories about magic, I can't recommend it enough.
No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind and The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson: I found these books to be really helpful. I appreciate the straightforward examples and how easily the overall premise can be applied to different situations. The added resources for printing and sharing are especially helpful. I don't think you need to read both books to get the gist, but it helped having the reinforcement.
Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) by Kathleen Gros: A graphic novel. A modern Anne with queer rep?? Yes please! I missed some of the whimsy of the original setting but I really appreciated the updated context and diversity. Plus - there were ZINES! Need I say more?
The Vagus Nerve Reset: Train Your Body to Heal Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety by Anna Fergusen: I wish I'd realized before borrowing this book that I'd want to refer back to it so much. Audio was a good option for the first part, but for the examples of stretches and whatnot, it would have been nice to have a physical copy. I'm already doing some of the things listed and looking forward to trying more when I can get a physical copy.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden: This was my first time reading The Secret Garden. Aside from the casual colonialism, I think it was a bit ahead of its time. I really enjoyed the character growth and the setting. Reading the graphic novel after the original and seeing the way the artist brought it to life was really nice, and I especially loved the bit at the end where they explained their choice to leave out certain parts of the original.
Greenwitch and The Grey King (The Dark is Rising #3 and 4) by Susan Cooper: A couple of quick and interesting continuations of this series. The second book is still my favourite, but I'm really enjoying seeing where it's all going.
Mrs. Perivale and the Blue Fire Crystal by Dash Hoffman: I found this fantasy delightful. I really appreciate the protagonist being an older woman, and that her cats and butler come with her on the adventure. Looking forward to the next one.
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings: Give me all of the sweet and steamy neurodivergent sapphic romances, please! This was perfect.
The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time #4) by Robert Jordan: Somehow these books keep pulling me back in. They're very long and I'm still listening to the audio versions, but I'm really invested in the characters. Jon and I snuck in another episode of the TV series the other day and I'm looking forward to more of that as well.
Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic by Sangu Mandanna: I would have loved for this sweet graphic novel to be at least twice as long. The art style is so cute and I really loved the characters and story.
The Unfiltered Enneagram: A Witty and Wise Guide to Self-Compassion by Elizabeth Orr: I think I'll always leave any book about the enneagram wanting more, but I liked the perspective of this one. It's a bit sharp but also funny and compassionate.
Ephemera by Sierra DeMulder: (Content warning for miscarriage, loss.) Another stunning poetry book. I've gotten really lucky with these this year. This one is largely about death and impermanence, and more than one of the poems made me cry.
What I’m looking forward to in July
Oren's birthday!: Our youngest is turning 4! His birthday is the 4th, so we'll probably watch some fireworks, and then his party will be over the weekend.
Time with Jon's family: My husband's dad is up visiting, and we'll be attending a reunion/gathering with some of the family.
School camp (sort of) for Sybi: Our school has a summer program for two weeks in July, which Sybil will be going to. I'm excited to see what kind of projects she does and what kind of things she learns about!
A scheduled MRI: (okay, I'm not technically looking forward to the actual procedure, but I am looking forward to the results!) After TWO YEARS waiting to hear about a referral with no idea I needed the MRI first (🤷🏻♀️) I'm finally going to get a weird bump on my lower leg checked out. I'm pretty sure I already know what it is and where it came from, and it shouldn't be dangerous, but it'll be nice to officially confirm.
More house progress: Jon will be working on the complex inner workings of the kitchen, and I'm probably going to paint our front door and maybe find some other fun little things I can do.
More summer things: More grilling and ice cream and CSA boxes and sunshine, and hopefully some swimming!
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What's your favourite part of summer so far? Please let me know in the comments, or send me a message! Sending you vibes for a fun and relaxing July 🌼 And as always, feel free to share if this resonated with you!
Mind you, I still wouldn't want to see her inside the house, but progress is progress.
It looks and sounds like such a fun summer! My daughter is obsessed with Demon Hunters and won’t stop singing the songs! (And my son has been so excited that he’s been getting to share his favorite show demon slayers with me…)
This was such a fun read, I could really feel the joy emanating out of the pictures and the descriptions of your goings-on. Your kids are truly adorable, A (and the expression on Oren's face while getting the hair wash was...EVERYTHING!!!). Thank you for sharing these wonder-filled summer snippets. Wishing you many more moments of joy to come this summer. Happy birthday to Oren (and happy birthing day to you!). 💖🎂🥳