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The Season Five Wrap Up
127 Plays1 year ago
Well, friends, it's that time of year again! As we head into June and summer holidays, we're wrapping up season five of The Modern Lady with a much needed update on the podcast, our conference in Wisconsin and a peek into our hopeful summer plans! What are you planning for the upcoming break? Join us to laugh and chat about what we are envisioning for our homes and our hearts, our family culture and our own self-improvement over the next few months, and be sure to share with us your plans for the summer too!
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Transcript
Misconceptions About Respect
00:00:00
Speaker
Number four, respect for elders. Nope, that's not true. Disrespect for elders.
Introduction to Episode 138
00:00:26
Speaker
Welcome back to the Modern Lady Podcast. You're listening to episode 138. Hi, I'm Michelle. And I'm Lindsay, and today we are wrapping up season five. In our final episode of season five, we find ourselves reflecting back on the wonderful conversations we have had this past year, from homemaking to history, trends to faith, family culture to the culture at large.
Reflecting on Season 5
00:00:51
Speaker
but as always around this time of year our hearts and minds shift a bit more inward again towards our own homes and families and the things we're excited to see in my cabin there. So as we wrap up this latest season and before we sign off for another long summer break we're taking some time to reflect on this past year and to look towards what comes next.
00:01:14
Speaker
But first, the best way that you can support the Modern Lady podcast is by giving us a rating and review on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts. Your reviews, especially on iTunes, can really help others who might be interested find our podcast too. Your comments mean the world to us.
00:01:31
Speaker
This week's shout out goes to Ali Stewart, who gave us a five star rating and review on Apple podcasts and said, quote, one of the things I look for in a podcast is that the hosts have pleasant or comforting voices to listen to.
Listener Feedback and Support
00:01:46
Speaker
It's a little bit like ASMR maybe, but pleasant voices helped me to create a productive soundscape for my workday. You both have lovely voices, so thank you for helping me build my soundscape today. End quote.
00:02:01
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, Ali Stewart, for your message. After doing a whole episode on content creators and ASMR last year, we were thrilled to learn that you consider our voices to be ASMR and that our episodes provide that loveliness to your day. Okay, I've never jumped in on Michelle before. We're going to go off off off script right here.
00:02:23
Speaker
But yeah, I've never jumped in before, right? When you read those comments. But those always make me just a little extra proud because I think my voice is so jarring. So I always am sure to share those ones with Jason and my family and be like, just so you know, someone finds my voice relaxing.
00:02:42
Speaker
Yes, someone wants to hear me ask for the kitchen to be cleaned. That's right. So thank you to that listener. Yes, thanks again so much, Allie. And if you would like to leave us a comment, you can do so on our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com, or you can leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, where you can find us at The Modern Lady Podcast.
Essential Etiquette Tips for Children
00:03:15
Speaker
But before we get into today's chat, Lindsay has our Modern Lady Tip of the Week. We have covered many, many tips over the years as we've been hosting this podcast together.
00:03:26
Speaker
And I thought it was fitting to share today something that goes back to our earlier roots, back to etiquette. Here is a list of five etiquette tips that you should teach your children. And I got this from an African website called Tribute Online Ing, like engenglish.com.
00:03:42
Speaker
And the first one says, teach them proper greetings. Now, I love that this article points out that in African culture, the way someone is greeted is very important, and that a child who doesn't know how to greet people properly is a reflection of his or her upbringing. This article reminds its readers to teach children the slightly different manner in which you might greet an elder versus a friend or someone closer to their age. Greeting someone well is a sign of respect.
00:04:08
Speaker
Number two, table manners. Now I admit that I've often neglected to teach this one in a better way. Shall we say like more formally? Because I'm often just saying in veiled frustration, don't eat with your mouth open or why are you wiping your hands on your clothes? And I realize that this is something that should be taught regularly and with intention.
00:04:28
Speaker
Number three, knocking on the door before opening it. This is something that seems obvious, but children do just burst into spaces without giving it a second thought, and this is something that might save them embarrassment at some point in the future. Number four, respect for others. Now this one is something that each generation laments. Kids these days, am I right?
00:04:49
Speaker
I have to say, though, that after hosting 10, 9-year-olds here on the past weekend, they were all so sweet and polite. So politeness is still very much a thing. But something Jordan Peterson said once really stuck with me, and it was, don't raise unlikable children. Not only is this a problem when they're young, when they're trying to make friends at school or on the playground, unlikable children grow into unlikable adults, and this can have a serious effect on their job performance and overall life outcome.
00:05:17
Speaker
Number five, speaking courteously.
Teaching Politeness and Respect
00:05:20
Speaker
Now to me this goes hand in hand with respect for others, but the article breaks this one down into using magic words. And then of course that led me down into Google to look up the origin of the phrase magic words, but every link took me down an abracadabra rabbit hole.
00:05:35
Speaker
And that was not what I meant by magic words. So the website for scholars choice says the four main magic words are please thank you you're welcome and I'm sorry. Teaching children to say these words is fairly easy but working with them to make sure they're sincere takes a bit more effort but it is so worth it.
00:05:55
Speaker
So if you're anything like me, you've started thinking that perhaps it's not just children that need to work on these five basic etiquette tips that perhaps it's time for adults to brush up on our life skills too. I've been thinking a lot about making the summer a life lesson summer for the Murray kids and basic etiquette will be top of my list. I love, I love what it said there in the article about how learning these
00:06:20
Speaker
basic and quite simple etiquette will actually save our kids from embarrassment in the future. And that is so true. Like any kind of discipline that we think like day to day, like A, is this doing anything and B, are they getting it? It really is the work that we put in is really for their benefit. Um, even though they may not realize it at the time, but I do, um, the very first one about greeting people properly.
00:06:47
Speaker
I do have to give a shout out to a mutual friend of ours, Lindsay, our friend Grace, because I have to say her children are the best greeters ever met of children.
00:07:02
Speaker
It can be done. We know somebody whose children have done it. Grace does it in front of you. Grace is like, come here to each of her children. And she's so gentle. Her whole spirit is so gentle.
Season 5 Conclusion and Reflections
00:07:15
Speaker
But you can tell she's forming them on a spot. And it doesn't embarrass them. You can just tell she's mothering them into learning those skills. Yeah, she does an excellent job of it.
00:07:27
Speaker
It's hard to believe that we are wrapping up season five of the Modern Lady podcast. We can hardly believe that it's been five years of incredible conversations and deep dives with the most wonderful community of like-minded friends and listeners. But it is that time of year again to start slowing things down and process this past year, right Lindsay?
00:07:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's I'm sitting here even trying to remember all the things we've talked about over this past year and I can't like it just it's been a blur. Maybe it's because life is really open back up, right? And we're all doing so many things, but it's truly been a blur. Oh, hold on. It actually makes sense. I'm also having trouble remembering because of my concussion, which I think we were going to talk about.
Lindsay's Recovery Journey
00:08:10
Speaker
So yes, I was I was like, I actually don't remember any of the episodes we've done.
00:08:19
Speaker
But yes, it has been a blur because of the speed, but you have that extra. You're a little bit extra. As always, to be expected. Yes. But in that vein, though, we did want to include in this wrap up episode just the first little bit to update people on what's been going on. Because it has all seemed like it's been happening so fast. And we've been operating, too, with the podcast.
00:08:46
Speaker
kind of like in the moment and spontaneously. So yeah, we did just want to summarize what has been going on. And the biggest, I would say, underlying thing that we've been trying to respect and give space to has been your health journey, right, Lindsay, and your concussion. So do you want to update us on how you're doing?
00:09:08
Speaker
Well first I just want to say thank you Michelle for being such a good friend for me during this and you have just been so patient with me. I don't know how many times I've lost count how many times I've had to delay episodes or everything like that and you've just always always said put my health first and my family first so
00:09:25
Speaker
Thank you. I don't want to cry. I'm all over the place. Of course, of course. But thank you for being there for me. So yeah, back in early March, I slipped on the ice on the way home from the school for any of you who don't follow my Instagram and I hit the back of my head. I'm pretty sure I blacked out. I don't remember hitting the ground. I don't remember a lot. And all I know is that my Apple watch was buzzing on my wrist and that
00:09:53
Speaker
feeling made me come to. I found out later it was also sounding a very loud SOS alarm, which I couldn't hear. I had lost my hearing. I'd also lost all the feeling down both arms and hands. So I was frantically trying to regain feeling in my hand so I could turn off the buzzing of the watch because it was counting down a call to 911.
00:10:14
Speaker
And I didn't know what had happened. So it was very frightening. It all happened in a split second. And it's just that reminder that a split second can have months of impact, right? Like I'm still dealing with so many symptoms. Um, so I don't remember a lot of March, to be honest. Um, I'm still having spotty memory. Um, I'll have days where I can remember everything, but then I have days where I can't tell you what we did that morning. And so it's been very alarming for me to have to search for words or memories or
00:10:44
Speaker
think that my sentences aren't making sense and so there's all that cognitive stuff. And then mainly the lingering physical symptoms is all due to vestibular, I guess, damage. I'm starting to see a therapist about that. It's like, I guess, inner ear balance. I've got like this pressure all in my ears.
00:11:02
Speaker
and dizziness depending on what's happening around me is frequent. I went into Lent this year with the intention of healing, doing a lot of healing work just in my heart and my life, wanting to be a really whole and healed person as I am in my 40s now.
00:11:20
Speaker
didn't think I'd, you know, crack my head. I didn't actually crack it as far as we know, but hit my head off on the ice and literally have to heal in a way that I wasn't prepared for. So I was like, we always joke that Lent happens to me. So there's a lot of blessings in it too, and a lot of humbling where I have to rely on others and ask for help. And I see that there's so many opportunities for spiritual growth in that. And
00:11:46
Speaker
and ways of trusting God and trusting my husband and family to help me and have to let go of the control. So thank you to everyone who's been praying. I have been blown away by hundreds of messages on Instagram from people who've been praying or are still praying for me. I am just so thankful for your support, Michelle, and for my family, for Jason specifically, and for all of our listeners.
00:12:12
Speaker
Yeah. And I know for myself and for all of us who have been praying for you, like to be able to support you through this, um, we're happy to be there for you in that capacity. Um, especially cause some of us live far away and things like that. So yes, we will continue to pray for you though. And for your healing that it's been a wild journey with all of that. Oh my goodness. I still can't believe it. You're right. The split second. Um,
00:12:42
Speaker
My goodness. And so, yeah, having said that, and you referred to this a little bit, like it's, it's meant that we've had to also adjust the podcast side of things too. Like, I mean, when you're saying all that, then we talk about the podcast in relation to this, and it's so like,
00:13:00
Speaker
bottom of the list in terms of importance, right? In terms of healing and everything. But it did impact the recording schedule. We had already started reducing the amount of episodes we were releasing in general. And so we were able to quickly adjust, which has been awesome. But it has had a bit of repercussions as well. This kind of leads into what has been going on with our conference in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Conference Cancellation
00:13:28
Speaker
And so we did just want to touch on that briefly. I was able to hop on Instagram about a week ago now to talk about the fact that we're unfortunately not going to be able to make it to Wisconsin. And we were in talks this whole time, right, with the organizers there at the St. Anthony Spirituality Center.
00:13:51
Speaker
Yes. They are incredible people. They are incredible people. Oh my goodness, I'm going to say like you guys need to check them out for some of the other programs and stuff that they're hosting, like massive plug for them. They are wonderful women there. Yes. Yeah. And also like prayerful women, compassionate women. And you know, as we were talking about and planning this conference, we all started to get the sense that we were
00:14:19
Speaker
trying to go ahead with something that may not be the correct time for what this was. And so mutually on all sides, we just decided to cancel the conference, your health being one of them. And we were trying to figure out how to safely travel. That was a big thing because it's quite a distance for us.
00:14:43
Speaker
But I think the biggest thing that you and I would like to say about it is though we're disappointed to have to do that, we did feel a peace in surrendering that to God when it was made clear from so many circumstances. And it was a lesson to us to be open to the Holy Spirit.
00:15:03
Speaker
not only in the new and novel and exciting aspects of our lives, but also in the times when he might be calling us to take a pause and make a difficult decision too. Absolutely. I was so thankful for the episode we did on discernment. What was that last year?
00:15:21
Speaker
You and I have really taken that process to heart and I love just the way that you and I can be honest with each other and talk those things through and pray together and pray for things and you're right, we 100% felt peace on our end and we know that they did too.
00:15:37
Speaker
Yeah. So you and I were having a phone conversation this week, Michelle, and you're like, you know, feeling burnt out and I'm feeling burnt out. And then we're both like, wow, it's May. And even though you're homeschooling and my kids are at public school, there is like that kind of May. What do they call it? Like a
00:15:54
Speaker
Well, it's almost like a spring fever, I guess, right? Where the kids are just getting ramped up too, and they know summer's coming, and the weather is rapidly changing. That pressure's on, I know, for homeschoolers to really see, like, are you going to finish up what you had planned for the year? And for those of us sending our kids out to school, like, if I have to make one more lunch in a lunch bag,
00:16:16
Speaker
That's it. I'm just throwing in pencils of chips and an apple at this point, which I'm not really. Don't report me. We're both feeling like that, but at the same time, because you and I are always still feeling or prompting to like, let's do something new. That's great.
00:16:36
Speaker
Instead of just being present in that feeling, we're like, what can we change about our summers? What can we do this summer to level up as homemakers? So we're always so excited to try something new. So yeah, we have a few goals. I have a few goals for myself and for my family, and so do you. And we thought that you guys might be interested in some of the things we're going to attempt with our families this summer.
00:17:00
Speaker
I know it's kind of weird that our response to feeling burnout is to do more stuff. I think it's so on brand for us, right? And we're also so self-aware that if these things don't work, like we're not gonna beat ourselves up, but I love having something to look forward to. We like that anticipatory joy.
00:17:20
Speaker
As we learned before and we just like having a rough plan and I know like I have been resting since my concussion I've been resting more than I've ever rested in my life and so part of me really does want to jump back into like things to kind of get healthier and Run my house better again, right? There's only so many months I really can lay on the couch and just like rest my head so I know I'm feeling the itch to get going on some of these things and
00:17:46
Speaker
Okay, well now I am curious, what are you doing this summer? You go first and then I'll go. Okay, so well we just finished our gym and our garage, right? We built a gym in our garage and it is like
00:18:00
Speaker
Oh, it's a dream come true. Jason and I keep saying there's no excuse now. It's five steps from our kitchen. We should be able to work out. That being said, I am following doctor's orders and I'm not really supposed to be working out. But this mantra of mind, body, soul kept going through my head. And I know that that's... I didn't come up with that phrase, but it's been kind of just floating around my head.
00:18:24
Speaker
And I was like, okay, if I could do those three things every day in whatever form that takes, maybe it's five minutes on each. But like, if I can just do a little checklist of mind, body, soul, I think that that's a good like jumping off point. But then I was like, I was like, that's, I don't like that souls at the end. But then I thought, well, if you work on your mind and your body, then your soul will benefit. So maybe it does work.
00:18:47
Speaker
But then I realized I wanted to add in two
Summer Goals and Self-Improvement
00:18:49
Speaker
more. I wanted to add in attitude and home. I thought, okay, if I can do those five things, right? Like work on my attitude every day, my body, my mind, my soul and home. So then I'm like, okay, I work really well with like acronyms or a little saying. So then I, so then Michelle, I thought I need to make this into something I'll remember. So I'm like, okay, BAMPSH, body attitude, mind, soul and home.
00:19:17
Speaker
And I was like, okay, I might not be firing on all cylinders right now, but BAMSH just isn't really catchy. It's unforgettable. BAMSH. Now maybe I need to actually stick with it.
00:19:33
Speaker
Get it painted really decoratively. In the gym, on the wall. In script. BAMSH. Okay, so I did take a second and I tried to rework it and I'm like, okay, I thought what word?
00:19:53
Speaker
could I make from BAMPS? And I'm like, yeah, I dropped the B it's I could make the word smash if I move it around. So I'm like, okay, soul, mind, attitude, and then I needed to replace body with something and I and I put in the word shape. And that first I was like, is that offensive? Like, can I can being in shape be a goal? I'm like, heck yeah, it can be a goal. Like, it doesn't have to be your shape or someone else's shape. But I want to feel like I'm in shape, right? So soul,
00:20:18
Speaker
mind, attitude, shape, and home, smash. And then I thought that can be, I could smash the day, right? Like have those in a little way in the day, or I can have like a smash the week where there's some bigger goals for the week, but I just love that idea. So I'm actually going to take the concept of smash into my summer and I'll just tie it in my head. So like for my soul, obviously that's prayer time, scripture,
00:20:42
Speaker
That kind of thing. For my mind, though, it's continuing reading the classics, right? And listening to great podcasts, edutainment. Obviously, attitude is the kids are going to be home all summer and making sure that I am a beacon of peace, which I laugh at internally all the time because my priest was like, you need to be a beacon of peace. And I want to be like, do you even know me?
00:21:03
Speaker
And so I'm gonna work on being a beacon of peace I want to get healthy and in shape because if anything a fall teaches you and getting hurt teaches you at all any type of injury about how important it is that you're healthy right that you can recover and you can bounce back and then home I want my home to continue to become a place of refuge as the world continues to get
00:21:26
Speaker
More worldly, let's say. Yeah. And so yeah, smash or BAMSH, whatever, whatever people like.
00:21:35
Speaker
Yeah, you can smash or bampt your day. Yes. Whatever floats your boat. Yeah, but you know what I love about that? And it is holistic, right? Because it's taking into account that wholeness that you were, we were talking about in one of our previous episodes, I don't remember, but that seeking of being whole. Yeah.
00:21:56
Speaker
Um, it's taking that holistic mentality into account, but accounting for the fact that our days and our time and our resources are limited not to add to the burnout. So if you try to smash your day, your day.
00:22:14
Speaker
It's just one thing in each of those categories, right? Very, very little bite-sized pieces. It's like a summer of habit forming for yourself and hoping that the model of that will pass on to the other members of your family to inspire them to do the same.
00:22:34
Speaker
And this actually leads really well into something that I would love to focus on this summer, which is being a really good role model again for my kids. I don't think, or at least I hope, I haven't been a bad role model lately.
00:22:51
Speaker
But it is true that this year coming out of the pandemic, we kind of went like all in with everything and it was great. I mentioned in a previous episode, we're in kind of a saying yes phase of our life, which is awesome, but also realistically, it's tiring.
00:23:14
Speaker
And I know that I have lost touch with some of the things and the values that I would just love to reinforce with my kids. Things like reconnecting again with my hobbies, right? Now something's wrapping up for the summer to re-engage in those life-giving things that I take pleasure in and delight in a little bit more often and letting the kids see that and hopefully inspiring them to take up things that inspires them as well.
00:23:44
Speaker
I would love to model again how to take rest. I've modeled how to work hard. I don't think they could refute that. And now I want to provide them that counterbalance again. And so I've been playing around with this in my own mind too. And the idea isn't quite as solidified as an acronym quite yet, but I'm getting there.
00:24:07
Speaker
But I like what you have been saying, kind of, I might be working it into my own mindset, heading into the summer of how I can adopt it, but truly, in order to model how to do that, it is part of education at home.
00:24:27
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think that that leads perfectly into one of the next things that we want to do too is again like forming the kids in an intentional way. I've realized, especially since I haven't been homeschooling now for two years, all of them, the older two went back even a little bit before that.
00:24:42
Speaker
I've dropped the ball on life lessons and I realize that even when writing that etiquette tip. So like right down to maybe my kids don't actually know how to use a can opener. Yeah, that's that's a truth that I'm ashamed of. Or like how to like address an envelope. Things that I think I would have naturally continued to work into our homeschool days.
00:25:01
Speaker
that I'm just too tired to do in the evenings or I forget even to do, right? So I want to be more intentional about like life lessons with the kids. So I think exactly like the can opener thing, I'm not even kidding. They don't know how to do it. So I need to open four cans of tomato sauce to make lasagna tomorrow. So I'm going to, there's four kids and I'm literally going to
00:25:21
Speaker
teach each one how to do it. And I'm going to give them a sender's address and a receiving address and four envelopes and have them just just see what they would do on an envelope. So I think I'm going to just kind of create a little maybe top 20 top 25 life lessons. There's plenty of resources for that online and work through those with my kids this summer. Yeah, I love that. I've also been feeling that pull to to like incorporate life skills.
00:25:49
Speaker
more into our homeschooling because we are homeschooling. I'm like, you should do more of this if we're here all the time. And one of the things I've been really fascinated with lately, which is hilarious because I've always considered myself a little bit more classical homeschooling. I really love that model of homeschooling, but lately I've been very curious about unschooling.
00:26:15
Speaker
And so I don't know if there is a brand of homeschooling that is like a classical unschooler. Maybe there is. Maybe there's already a community, but if not, I'm happy to delve right in there and trailblaze a little bit. But part of that is really just child-led, right? So leaning into what they're very interested in, but then you provide
00:26:38
Speaker
the avenues and resources and information for them to pursue that. That's basically what the brand of unschooling that I'm thinking of is. And so, for example, to your can opener point,
00:26:52
Speaker
My eldest daughter Claire, she's been very interested, always has been interested in being in the kitchen. So she's been baking since she was about seven or eight years old. And lately I was challenging her. I was like, well, you do a lot of baking, but have you thought about cooking like meals? And she's like, oh no, no, I don't like cooking, just baking. And so I was like, well, you should transfer a little bit into cooking.
00:27:21
Speaker
So yeah, we've just been challenging her every week to find a recipe, a child-friendly recipe, and we'll help her if she needs assistance with that, but write out the ingredients that she needs for the recipe so we can take it with our grocery list to do our shopping on the weekend. And she comes with us to do that and to find her sources. She gets to see the price of things.
00:27:43
Speaker
Um, and then on Monday nights, that's her night now. And she cooks dinner for us. That's incredible. For all of us. Yeah, it's fractions. She has to either bulk up the recipe or take it down a little bit if it's going to be too much. And it's been such, it's only been two weeks, I will say. It's her second week.
00:28:04
Speaker
But yes to those life skills, already I'm seeing like trying to figure out different ways to now get my younger kids more involved in that process too. Oh, it's so wonderful. I've loved seeing you sharing that and it is not something I, my kids have not shown that same interest. I've tried. Well, although my oldest was like, you know, I can go to the cooking and baking class in high school. And I'm like,
00:28:27
Speaker
I've offered to teach you how to cook and bake for 10 years. So yeah, they've just never shown a big interest at home. But I know so many parents who do like, like our friend Anita has done like, I think cookie bake off days with her kids where they do a competition. And so I can see maybe like a chocolate chip cookie.
00:28:45
Speaker
competition between my kids coming up this summer and that kind of thing and it's so good especially I love that you brought her to like talk about the grocery cost of things especially with the cost of groceries now because one of the other life lessons that we're working on with our kids is budgeting and we've always been really transparent with our kids about how much their dad makes how much our bills cost and I know generationally like that wasn't talked about before and so our generation I feel like is a lot more open with that but that's something we want to
00:29:14
Speaker
do a little bit better. We've never been ones to really budget our groceries. And I'm not saying that it's because we don't have to. I'm saying because I'm lazy with it. So it's always been like a problem for us that I don't budget them. And so we keep meaning to try that. And so we really want to try it this summer and see if we can save up for another family trip. And so it's the perfect time for Jason and I to sit down and look at the budget together. And then once we've had about a month or so of trying a couple different experiments with it, then we're going to bring the kids in on it as well.
00:29:43
Speaker
and really have them see exactly what it costs to run a small modest home with just four kids in it to really show them what the reality is. Right, right. And there's so many opportunities and interesting things you can branch into with that too, right? Then you get into price comparison, finding out the different places you can go for food. And yeah, that is so interesting. I think when we bring kids into our lives like that,
00:30:13
Speaker
They find it interesting, too. They totally do. And it's funny you just said that because one of the other little life lessons I wanted to teach them was to pick an item, just a generic item, and tell all four, find it for me. Have them look online. Have them actually read reviews. Have them look and see which store sells it cheaper. See if they're going to get scammed, if they're buying it from a fake website. Just be like, OK. And then all four present to me where they found that lawnmower or something like that. Yes. I love that. And you know what?
00:30:43
Speaker
It's a theme that comes up all the time about how, yes, there's dangers, but there's also such potential for good, too, if you're able to use it in a good way. Doing family presentations.
00:30:58
Speaker
is something I've seen online, people either presenting to their family on like where they think the next trip should be, the next family trip, but they have to research everything to try to convince everyone else. Like I think on even smaller scales, that could be such a great exercise, not only in having like online skills, looking things up, comparing, researching, fraud and scam recognition.
00:31:25
Speaker
But also then, just combining it with fun. Like, how much fun would be? This is why I think we should have this for Sunday dinner. Yes, exactly. Go for it. Yes. And then finally, this is just something that popped up in an Instagram post, which is funny because it's again, it's about like taking a break from social media.
00:31:45
Speaker
But I saw this quote from Kiko McCauley and it said, disappear for six months and do a ton of deep work and 99% of your problems will also disappear. So it's not necessarily the problems disappearing part that jumped out at me. It was the disappear for six months. And then I thought, and then show back up.
00:32:07
Speaker
totally in shape or totally like feeling healthy and great and healed or come back having read like 10 great novels you know like just having that chance to just disappear i kind of love that word and then and then re-emerge um kind of as a new person we can do that whenever we want we're adults like yeah
00:32:27
Speaker
decide to do that. And so last summer, I had actually forgotten about this until you reminded me, Michelle, I was off social media for most of last summer. And so I think I'm feeling that call again, ultimately, to kind of pull back from all of that and just, and I mean, my summer already is so busy, if I'm going to smash my days and teach my kids how to open cans, right?
Digital Detox and Family Focus
00:32:48
Speaker
There's no time to be on Instagram. And I tend to not post on Instagram in my family's home anyways. So
00:32:53
Speaker
Yeah, this idea of disappearing for a couple months doing deep work and reemerging it sounds really appealing to me right now Mm-hmm
00:33:02
Speaker
And I was just thinking, what would that even do to your acronym if you tried to add social media? Yes. Smash some. Smashes. Smash some. Yeah. I'll work on it. Yeah. It's true. It's true. I remember you doing that. And then I did like a mini version of that for Lent. I gave up social media for Lent.
00:33:30
Speaker
totally see what you saw last summer of how freeing it was, how much I didn't realize how much I was online, right? And for me, the struggle with social media and being online hasn't necessarily been the creation aspect of it because I don't actually post very much. It has just been the sheer amount of time of consumption.
00:33:55
Speaker
And then knowing that there could probably be something else I could be doing. And the only real way to see that is to step away from it completely for a time. So you're right. I think vanishing from offline from time to time is good. I think it's becoming more mainstream to do that than ever before. So I think we're all kind of feeling the same sort of thing.
00:34:22
Speaker
And another thing I was thinking as well in terms of social media and its usage is I've always wanted to use social media the way that artists use it. Artists in various disciplines, musicians, video, art, art, like visual arts, whatever.
00:34:44
Speaker
is that they only use it to showcase the things that they've produced and created and that they're proud of. And I would love to treat my life like art. And if I am at all going to spend time on social media, it's just to showcase something or the things that I'd like to showcase, use it as a showcase instead of a consumption trap, which for me has been the
00:35:13
Speaker
trick in the issue all along. Yes. And actually that reminds me of like the last thing I was thinking about doing this summer, and I actually just put it on my Instagram yesterday or the day before, um, that I'll need to do if I'm not on social media is I'm going to buy a camera. And so let me be clear, not a digital camera, not like a DSLR or whatever those fancy ones are. That's right. No, thank you. I'm not a disposable camera, not like Instamax or Polaroid camera. We already have one of those. I'm talking.
00:35:42
Speaker
a 35 millimeter film, pop it in the back, basic camera that we all grew up using. And so I looked them up on Amazon and Kodak actually has made a couple of new ones that look like from the sixties and they're gorgeous. And because I'm a, I will go weak in the knees for a good vintage aesthetic. Um, I'm like, of course I have to buy the hundred dollar camera.
00:36:07
Speaker
And let's be real, I'm actually going to see if anybody is selling an old 35 millimeter film camera first before I buy the one off Amazon. But that kind of sparked that little interest when I saw how cute they were. And then I was like, I want to take photos and drop them off and get them developed. I have 20,000 photos on my phone that I will never make into a book.
00:36:28
Speaker
I just I did them years ago and they weren't very nice and they still cost a lot of money and my laptop barely works to even open and drag and click photos and other things. I just thought for fun this summer just as an experiment and we love our experiments. If I just took photos like the olden days where you can't see them on a screen and hopefully they turn out
00:36:48
Speaker
So I called a local photography place in town here. There's about four that still do like photo development. And I asked what it would cost to develop a role of film. And I don't know, okay, there was a moment of shock when they were like, oh, it's $25. And then I don't think that includes doubles like back in the day.
00:37:06
Speaker
And I'm like, okay. But then I still thought about it. I'm like $25 if I do like four rolls over the summer. Anyways, to me, it just seems worth trying and carry a camera in my purse and leave that phone behind a lot. I also think that their kids act differently when you pull your phone out at the park or at the beach or something versus a camera. So I'm interested to just really try this out, get the photos developed and see what I think.
00:37:32
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that's a good idea. I didn't even think about that, like how they might act differently for a camera that looks like a camera versus the camera on your phone. I wonder if there is a little bit of distrust. Yes, I think there is. Yeah. I know like I'm guilty of it too when they were younger, just posting pictures of them. I look back now and realize that like
00:37:57
Speaker
I have like one child who very clearly just never was interested in that, having their pictures posted and stuff like that. So yeah, how they will react differently with a camera versus a phone. That will be such an interesting experiment to see. And then you're right.
00:38:17
Speaker
We love to flip through those photos, the kind you hold in your hand, right, in a way that you're right. Flipping through them on your phone is not the same. And even flipping through them in a photo book is not the same as a photo album where the physical pictures are there. So that's a great, that's a great idea. So one of the things that jumped out at me about everything we were just discussing right now, aside from buying the Kodak camera on Amazon, is that nothing we've talked about costs money.
00:38:46
Speaker
It's it's all free, right? Like all of these little changes and like our summers seem planned and they seem filled with like great ways to improve ourselves and to pay a lot more attention to our kids and just be really intentional about our motherhood and and just really have a full and satisfying and contented summer Nothing costs anything. We just have to put in a little bit of the work. Oh My gosh, that's such a good point
00:39:09
Speaker
Except for our cans and can openers. Right. There's a bit of upfront cost. But you're right. Yeah, that once again, like, I do love like our message on the podcast has always been a reminder to the two of us and
00:39:24
Speaker
hopefully to everyone else too. And it keeps coming up over and over again that these are the most important things in life. This is where it all begins. And it's so available and common to everybody that you don't need anything extra to have things start here, like within your own four walls. I love that reminder, especially as we wrap up another season and head into another summer.
00:39:49
Speaker
And so even this conversation just reminds me of the Instagram post you wrote actually this morning, the morning of the day we're recording. And I loved it so much. And we were thinking, you know what, this kind of sums up also what we're trying to say here in this episode. So I think we should just finish with it. And Lindsay, I think you should read it for posterity here on the
00:40:15
Speaker
Okay, well, I was inspired by a visit I made to a bookstore in Waterloo, Ontario called Old Goat Books. And it is like the bookstore of your dreams, right? With like floor to ceiling bookshelves. It's an old house. It's creaky. It's just filled with books. And so I was looking at that photo and I was inspired to write.
00:40:34
Speaker
Summer plans, 2023. Less phone, more books. Less YouTube, more books. Less news, more books. Less social media, more books. Less Netflix, more books. Less pretending I know everything, more learning. Less trying to figure out the current situation, more learning history.
00:40:55
Speaker
Less extremism. More nuance. Less talking. More listening. Less working to exhaustion. More restful leisure. Less consumption of lackluster media. More stimulating intellectual fuel for the mind. Less small talk. More elevation of conversation.
00:41:14
Speaker
less doom scrolling, more inspirational stories, less wasting time, more enrichment through what is being consumed, less small world thinking, more expansion throughout time and space enhanced by great literature.
00:41:29
Speaker
So I'm going to continue to be reading a lot, I think, is what that message means. You know what I was thinking? It sounds like a litany. It does sound like a litany! Yes! If I'm like less... Okay, so let's just try it, Michelle. Hold on. Okay, so you respond with more books. More books. Okay, less phone. More books. Less YouTube.
00:41:52
Speaker
more books this is like we're so yeah there you go it's a litany there's always a part in the litanies where it stops saying pray for us and starts saying like longer things good for you oh my goodness
00:42:08
Speaker
So yeah, maybe you guys will want to join us in taking up this litany of summer 2023, as we head into these warmer months. And so as we wind down this episode, and as we wrap up this season, we just want to say once again, thank you
00:42:25
Speaker
so so much to all of you to our listeners for your constant friendship and your support we always have such a blast chatting with you guys over the podcast and through our social media accounts and we're so grateful for you and for your camaraderie and your yeah your friendship and your conversation
00:42:45
Speaker
So we will be taking off, like we said, for the summer and it will most likely be a longer break again. We're going to kind of leave it up to the Holy Spirit to guide us when we return and with what. And so keep an ear out for us. We might pop up when you least expect it. But in the meantime, we hope that you have an excellent summer and that you enjoy the rest and recuperation and all of the things encompassed in our new litany of the summer.
00:43:25
Speaker
Okay, it's time for our What We're Loving This Week segment of the show. So Lindsay, what have you been loving this week? Well, I already talked to you briefly about this, but last week I needed a full day in bed to rest, and yes, it was as luxurious as it sounds.
00:43:41
Speaker
But perhaps I shouldn't have read the whole time and let my concussed brain rest, but I don't seem to have any concussion symptoms when I'm using my Kindle, so I just want to say that to people who are worried. The soft yellow light in the very large font I use doesn't seem to bother me. So I was able to read an entire short novel in the one day. Now this one is often at the top of the best horror novels of all time.
00:44:04
Speaker
Now, it is better defined as a gothic horror, which means that it has the aesthetic of fear and haunting versus actual horror scenes. Now, I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive about reading it at night. It's been on my list for a while. I was a little scared, so I thought it was best to read it in daylight while I was lying in bed. I did, however, close my curtains to create a bit of atmosphere. Now, the novel in question is The Haunting of Hill House, written in 1959 by American author Shirley Jackson.
00:44:33
Speaker
who I just googled she was my age when she wrote it which I thought was really cool. It runs 246 pages and I like I said I was able to read the whole thing and one day I literally couldn't put it down and that was kind of a nice break from the Victorian classics I've been reading though while good aren't exactly always page turners.
00:44:52
Speaker
So it was nice to have a book where I was like, oh, I want to keep going. So just briefly, the story takes place when Dr. Montague wants to spend the summer at a purported haunted house so that he can use science to try to prove or disprove the existence of a spirit world. Invites three others to join him. He's careful in choosing these people. The house is itself, I would argue, the main character.
00:45:14
Speaker
of the novel. Jackson really describes the house perfectly like you feel like you are there. While things happen in the house and you as the reader need to determine if it's the phenomenon or if it's real or if just it's someone's descent into madness. So it's incredibly well written. It is thoroughly spooky and just a really good book to tuck yourself into bed with in the daylight or if you're really brave at nighttime.
00:45:41
Speaker
No, I'm gonna be reading that in the daytime. Oh my gosh, I do love how like the gothic era of horror novels, they do a lot of dissenting into madness. Wow, that sounds awesome though. I think if someone's a fan of like Rebecca or anything by Daphne Dumourier, it's along those same lines. So there's nothing
00:46:04
Speaker
graphic, nothing that I think, you know, are like Catholic or Christian listeners wouldn't be able to read. Yeah, it's just it's it's it's along the same lines as Rebecca. Okay, I was thinking that I was wondering the same thing. So awesome.
00:46:19
Speaker
And what have you been loving this week, Michelle? Okay, so mine might sound a little bit unexciting at first. And we did just talk about how we wanted to take a step back from so many things like social media and the news and things like that, but bear with me here. So what I'm loving this week is a news service called 1440.
Benefits of 1440 News Briefing
00:46:44
Speaker
And like I said, this may sound a bit dull to you, but it's been such a helpful addition to my life that I really felt I needed to share it with everybody. So 1440 is a daily news briefing service and it's totally unbiased. Basically, the founders saw the glaring problem with the media landscape of the last few years, especially.
00:47:09
Speaker
and decided to begin this daily news email subscription where they will scour the headlines for news, but then they'll compile the newsworthy into a briefing that is sent to each subscriber, but with a catch. They try to edit it to as close to zero agenda as humanly possible.
00:47:29
Speaker
So it does read like a newspaper of old where you literally just get to read what happened. There's no speculation, no opinion or slant to their briefings, but they will include links throughout so that if you do want to know more or dig deeper, you do always have the option to.
00:47:48
Speaker
So I almost never click through though, because I've been surprised to realize just how little I need to know on a day-to-day basis beyond simply just wanting to keep current on what is happening. Yeah. And to be able to converse about the news, this subscription is free. And so it's easy to subscribe to. You just submit your email address at join1440.com.
00:48:17
Speaker
And so, just finally an interesting note though about the name, like why 1440? I was wondering that, and they do say so on their website, why? And it explains that it's roughly the year 1440 that the printing press was invented.
00:48:35
Speaker
Yes, and it launched what would become our global communication as we know it today. But it's also the number of minutes in a day, 1440. I know. And they said they're committed to helping us make each one count, which is a mission that I can definitely get behind. Okay, that's the perfect suggestion for those of us who want to disappear over the summer and not have our phones in our hands full day, right? So that's awesome. Thanks, Michelle.
00:49:05
Speaker
Okay, that's going to do it for us this season. If you want to get in touch and chat with us about our topic today, you can find us on our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com, or leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at the Modern Lady Podcast. I'm Michelle Sacks, and you can find me on Instagram at mmsacks. And I'm Lindsay Murray, and maybe you won't be able to find me on Instagram at Lindsay Homemaker.
00:49:35
Speaker
good one. Thanks so much for listening. Have a great week and we will see you next time.