What I Learned in May

Before I share with you what I learned in the merry, merry month of May, it is podcast Tuesday, so here's our fun for this week! My thoughts on watching {from the comfort of my own home} my first Indy 500, and the health screening lady's obsession with how LEAN Ryan is...there are plenty of giggles in this half hour!

Click here to listen

And now...on to what I learned this month! And to see what others have been learning, you can check out the links on Emily Freeman's blog!

1. Goodbyes teach you more than you can put in one paragraph. Or post. Or book, maybe.

Saying goodbye to our house in Marion was beautiful and bitter all at once. I cried from sorrow and giddiness, sometimes at the same time. I pondered and questioned. I celebrated and savored. I packed in final memories and wondered if I'd done enough. It was exhausting on levels I didn't even know I had. And along the way, the Lord whispered that it was all okay. I'd gathered what I needed to have in order to foster beautiful memories. And there really would come a day when I could think about it all.

2. Old pictures are mysterious and delightful. 

I'm the Bekah-razzi. We all know this. But you know, there were the olden days, when people actually did not photograph every given moment of their lives. The photos from that day are mysterious because they make me wonder what it was about this moment that warranted a photo. And it makes me hungry to see more, but more doesn't exist. I'm grateful to live in the era I do - where photos are plentiful. This photo? That's my mom - on the back step of the house we just sold. It looks very different now. But how cool is that? 

3. Being a full time writer and reader hinders 10,000 steps a day.

My sisters and I all got Fitbits so we can be accountable to each other and have a new way to stay connected even though we are separated by many hundreds of miles. I'm learning that when you write and travel and speak and read for your every day, it's hard to achieve a daily step goal of 10,000 steps. It works on days I can go for runs, but if the weather doesn't cooperate, I have to do some serious house-pacing to reach my goal! {I have tried pacing while reading but to walk fast enough to register on the Fitbit, I sometimes get dizzy while I read!} And the truth of it is, if the writing bug hits, I can sit for eight or more hours without missing a beat! First world problems, right?

4. Washers really can eat socks.

I've never lost a sock in my entire life until we moved to this house. I've heard stories of people who lose socks in the laundry and it's always baffled me how that happens. And then in a month and a half, I lost three socks. Two of mine {not from the same pair} and one of Ryan's. I looked EVERYWHERE and they were just gone. Vanished. Then Ryan decided to clean out the washer, because he thought it smelled mildewy, and what did he find tucked safely behind the rubber seal to the door? All three socks. So apparently our washer {which came with this house} actually eat socks. And also...I'm not crazy.

5. Healing can be a slow process.

If you're kind of new to the blog, you don't know that two years ago this coming August, I had a five hour oral procedure to treat a pretty advanced case of periodontal disease I didn't know I had. They told me when I was diagnosed that recovery would take about two years. WHAT?!? Years!?!?!? Earlier this month, I went for another checkup {I have to go every three months} and they gave me a glowing progress report but added that I have not fully healed yet. I still have some places that need to continue recovering. I really thought they were giving me an exaggerated recovery time, but I guess not!  

6. I love golden-doodles.

We had the privilege of dog-sitting for some friends of ours for a whole week. Little Phoebe came to stay with us, and while Braeya was not really a fan of our willingness to adopt a dog for a week, I learned that I adore golden-doodles. Pheobe was well-mannered, so much fun, and the perfect size for our house. I know we aren't meant to have a dog right now, but I do believe the day will come, and when it does, I want a Phoebe-junior.

7. I can cook with yeast.

My mom is a masterful cook/baker/candy-maker. And because she is, I've always resisted making the things she makes so well. Her pies...amazing. So I've never made pies as a general rule {the one day post-surgery when I spent an entire day making ONE pie as an exception...} because I know they won't be as good as hers, no matter what I do. Same with her delectable Christmas chocolates...and her yeast rolls. Truth? Yeast scares me. I think I'm most paralyzed by the over-the-top lecture in home ec class about NOT KILLING THE YEAST. Don't make the water too hot or you'll KILL THE YEAST! {Perhaps repurchasing yeast nearly broke the home ec budget?} But this month, I decided I was not going to let a 38-year-fear of yeast get the best of me, and I drove right over to the store and bought a three-pack. And last week I spent an entire evening making strawberry sweet rolls for Ryan. They aren't a masterpiece, but let the record show, I did not kill the yeast. And they were a bit on the delicious side. :)

8. There is a fireworks tax {at least in Indiana.}

Ryan and I purchased sparklers at the store this weekend, because I wanted to add some sizzle to our Memorial Day date-for-two. When I inspected the receipt after our shopping spree {because we're weird like that}, I discovered there is an additional tax charged on fireworks. I had no idea! Is that an Indiana thing or an everywhere thing? I do not know. But I learned it happens here!