Friday Five: August 1, 2025

Happy Friday! It's hard to believe that it's already August, this summer has been flying by in a blur. As I reflect on the week, I'm feeling grateful for the way life keeps teaching me what really matters. Here are five things that have been on my mind:

1. I've been thinking a lot about routines lately, specifically which parts of my daily rhythm actually serves me and which ones I hold onto out of habit. It's important to examine the choices I make automatically each day and evaluate whether they're moving me toward the person I want to be, or just keeping me busy. I'm proud of how many past bad habits I've managed to break over the years, but creating good routines is an ongoing process of adjustment and refinement. Often the most powerful question isn't "What should I add to my routine?" but rather "What can I let go of?"

2. August arrived with that familiar bittersweet feeling that summer is passing by too quickly. I am someone who loves hot weather and dreads the winter, so I feel the need to soak up every moment of warmth and sunshine possible. We've been trying to get outside as much as we can, but the wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada has complicated our outdoor plans more than once the past few weeks.

   
   

   

   Wildfire smoke in Mendota Heights

   
   

3. Monday night brought some intense storms that knocked out our power for nearly a full day, providing us with an unexpected lesson in gratitude. You don't realize how much you depend on electricity until you're trying to get dressed for work in complete darkness or eating chips for dinner because you can't cook anything. When the lights finally came back on Tuesday evening, just taking a hot shower felt like pure luxury.

4. We had our wedding ceremony back in May, and now we are in the midst of planning our September reception. With my mom's passing in June and everything that came with planning her funeral and wading through grief, the reception planning initially felt overwhelming. How do you celebrate something joyful while you're still processing such a big loss? But this week we made progress, locking in our photographer and DJ, and I'm finding that focusing on the celebration is actually helping with the healing process. Mom would have wanted us to mark this milestone with happiness.

   
   

5. After traveling three out of four weekends in July, and a busy month ahead, I'm looking forward to spending this weekend at home. Nowhere urgent to be, no suitcase to pack, no super early mornings. I'm planning to catch up on laundry, meet up with a friend from out of town, and hopefully go to the pool.