September 2022

Everything school is in full swing

On the Journey 🥾

It’s been a busy month of school and soccer, but in-between we managed a family trip to Ann Arbor to watch Michigan play Hawaii and another weekend driving to Fort Wayne to experience the Johnny Appleseed Festival. We’re looking forward to at least one camping trip in October and then making plans for a much fuller camping schedule next spring.

Challenging myself

I’m completing this newsletter at the beginning of my very first two-week fall break. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement and I’m trying really hard to not be overly ambitious. But you will see a new tab added to On the Journey in the next couple of weeks as I hope to complete the rough draft of a book of essays, a collection of past blog posts that I want to see in print. That’s right, I’m dipping my toes into the waters of self-publishing. So look for new updates as I get closer to finishing this project and having some of my most personally important work in print.

Soundtracks For the Journey 🎧📚

I consider the soundtrack for my journey to be everything that I’m reading and listening to that is giving me a boost. You can also follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading every month. So here are my recommendations for the end of August:

• The Silent Patient: Alex Michaelides’ debut thriller/mystery novel kept me doing chores and going on walks just so I could finish it. Near the end I had to pause and rewind to make sure I had heard one of the big reveals correctly. I’m not a huge thriller fan, but he had me hooked.

• Pantsuit Politics: The election approaches and while I’ve recommended them before, I can’t help but feel I need to do it again as we head into an election that may be even more important than the last one. It is certainly the most important midterm election of my life. Get beyond conspiracies and hot takes and listen to the nuance necessary to preserve democracy.

Writing Outside of the Journey 💻

I continue to freelance for The Educator's Room. September was a slow writing month for me because school and sports kept me busy, but there are more pieces coming in October.

I also continue writing for our podcast, Lit Think,. In addition to our podcast episodes (which you should also check out) I wrote:

• “Turn My English Classroom Into a Science Lab?”

What Is Coming Up Next?

After going back in time for 15 podcast episodes, I have decided to return to my travel writing roots and set aside the podcast for a few months while I write weekly blog posts about our travels and other travel related content. It is entirely possible that I will return to podcasts to breathe new life into old blog posts about past travels, but I will be writing new posts about our summer vacation and fall camping adventures, so I hope that you enjoy the story of our summer travels and share them with people who might be interested. I will also be moving my travel posts to Fridays so people can enjoy and get caught up on the weekends. Other writing content will drop when I have time and I’m feeling inspired.

My soul searching after three months of experimenting with personal podcasting taught me that my real gift is in writing and that is what I need to focus on. If you’ve been enjoying those podcast episodes, let me know! I will be happy to bring that back occasionally.

I will also be making all posts available for all readers as I work to grow my readership. I’m not quitting a day job that I enjoy and I’m still doing this as a hobby, so if you feel moved to support me through paid membership, thank you so much! Support helps me justify my regular writing habit. And please consider following us at litthinkpodcast.substack.com. We’re putting together a lot of really great content in our current season.

That’s all for August! Keep following me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for additional updates.

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