Hi y’all,

Apparently I have always been a beach person.

Something that deep down I guess I knew but had forgotten. Or maybe had just never thought that much about. When I moved to Virginia I traded my time at the beach for time in the mountains, which to be fair was not at all a bad trade. I grew up loving the mountains too, but I think they were probably always second place to the ocean, even if a very close one. But mountains are a lot more plentiful in Virginia than beaches, and though Virginia does have beaches, none of them are my beach. My beach is the one I grew up with. Just a little south of Jacksonville, on a small island nestled between the Matanzas River and the Atlantic Ocean.

And on the Saturday evening that I usually would have been putting the finishing touches on this newsletter and getting ready to hit send, I was sitting on that beach, watching my boys play in the sand - just like I used to do - while the sun sank behind us.

It was a truly needed respite, as much in its spontaneity as in the rest it offered. Last minute decisions can be good for the soul, as is having your bare toes in the sand. Highlights from the trip included paying a guy hanging out on St. George Street to let us hold snakes longer than we each were tall (my youngest’s idea, and you should have seen his grin), a three foot hammerhead that washed up one morning at sunrise, lots of boogie boarding (although the hammerhead slowed that down, no complaints), sunrise on the beach every single morning, a photo lesson with my boys, an all-afternoon sand castle build, lots of beach walks, and the best food truck tacos you’ve ever had, guarantee it. It was the perfect start to summer.

So inspired by that perfect summer feeling, I’ve put together something a little different this month; creating a collage of photos that, for me, feel like summer. Some of them are from the trip, some are from the weeks before, and some are old, some are film, some are digital, some were taken with my phone. But each one says something about the feeling my last few weeks have been imbued with.

I hope you each are doing well, and that your summer is off to a start that feels something like this one. You know I love to hear from you, so write me back.

much, much love -

kg

I love this more than I can articulate, from Kate Bowler’s recent newsletter:

Blessed are the noticers, 
the ones who see the story in its fullest.

Blessed are the attenders, 
the witness bearers, the story holders, 
the ones who tiptoed to the edge right alongside us, 
knowing that the very act will break their heart in pieces too, 
choosing you anyway.

Blessed are those who are amazed by a life lived
in its fragility, in its brevity and its beauty.

Blessed are the ones who stand close enough to say, Behold.
Behold, this is their love. Behold, this is their silly hobby they probably should have given up on years ago.
Behold, these are the people they loved who know way too much at this point.
Behold are their quirky habits and favorite songs to belt in the car, 
and this is the marvel I get to know.

Behold, this is not a problem to be solved. 
This is a person to be loved.

And how lucky are we, these people, these loves. These beautiful, precious days.

One day, I noticed that the laughter had returned. Around the same time I was working on a poetry unit with my oldest. He’s a brilliant writer, when he wants to be, but motivation is sometimes hard to come by. So for some of his assignments I agreed to write alongside him, including this found poem (pictured above on my bulletin board), which I made from a page of The Little Prince:

my love, my dear little prince / the stars are guides for you

look up, and you will be comforted / you will laugh for the pleasure of it

and you will be astonished / gazing at the sky

AT THE MOMENT

LISTENING TO

It’s always interesting to look back and see what music I’ve listened to the most over a month. This month I decided to make my top 10 songs into a playlist because, well, why not… There were a couple of surprises on this particular list, but mostly it was as I expected. That Elle Cordova song especially. I think I put it on four different playlists, and I sing it constantly.

What was most surprising though was not what made the list but rather what was missing: I listened to a LOT of Bebel Gilberto Radio this month, and a fair amount of Bob Marley’s Legend album. I mean, can you even go to the beach and not?

READING IN

On the recommendation of not one, but two, different people, I’m currently knee deep into Katherine Morgan’s The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control. (Seriously tho, some of you who know me well need to try to contain your amusement.)

CRUSHING ON

I absolutely adore Hannah Taylor. She and her husband are THE cutest thing ever, and her recipes always look amazing. (I dare you to watch this video for her banana pudding and not agree.) And that accent y’all… makes me feel a little better when mine slips out.

THINKING ABOUT

The beach. Probably all summer long.

That’s all for this month. Thanks so much for being here!