The Weekly Ramble – September 19, 2025

I don’t know about where you live, but summer hasn’t ended yet. I know this. I remind myself of this every year.

But, still…

I am always hungry for sweater weather a good two months before it shows its pretty little face. These days are generally in the 80s with the nights only dropping to the mid-60s.

While we have AC and solar, I still don’t like to use it, so it’s a lot of fans and sweating. And if that’s not enough whiny-baby for you, the mosquitos are atrocious.

I’m ready for fall, but that won’t be here until November. Oy!

This morning my mom asked what’s new. And unfortunately, I don’t have all that much to report. For her or for you. Other than my whining.

The past week has been a bit of a blur and a lot of the mundane. Considering that everyone is healthy and happy and safe at our house, I’m counting routine and mundanity (new word!) a good thing.

One of the funny bits of the week was finding Funko Pops that look a lot like my boys since two of them got haircuts and one of them shaved. I wish I had a video of the boys when they saw them. Their reactions were hilarious!

Bryan is on the hunt for similar ones to our girls so that’s kinda fun.

Here’s what else I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, and reading this past week:

What I’ve Been Doing

Slowly, things are getting into a new routine. I don’t want to hold it too closely as it’s going to change in a few short months, but for now, it looks something like this:

• I have a couple days a week driving my girl to the community college. I park myself in the library and work for about 90 minutes OR run errands. Costco Business is nearby and they open at 7 am so it’s been perfect for quick returns/etc. I also got my hair done while Miss 17 took a math exam.
• One day a week she and I have Community Bible Study. Last year’s class was rather small, but this year’s is bursting with new faces. That’s pretty fun and makes me wonder if the internet whispers about revival are true.
• I just started physical therapy for a frozen shoulder. It’s basically a weekly visit to the torture chamber.

One thing I know about myself is that I do best with a set routine, particularly one that is home-based. If I leave, even for a short errand, it takes a big bite out of my productivity.

Since we live sort of “out of town” with lots of traffic on the thoroughfare, it takes a good 20 minutes just to get to the closest errand. That means things take a lot longer than I would like.

After a couple weeks of just getting by with housework I spent all day Tuesday cleaning and puttering. When we started taking a Sunday Sabbath, I moved my whole house reset to Fridays.

Now that I’m trying to get in more writing work hours, I haven’t found a great replacement day. So far, two Tuesdays this month have served that purpose, so maybe that’s it?

I cleaned out the fridge and freezer and scrounged this up for lunch for the three of us who were home that day. It’s mostly frozen entrees that we bought for a birthday celebration and then fried rice I made with leftovers.

What I’ve Been Eating

I’ve basically been eating whatever I wanted and what sounded good. I’ve also tried to reduce my running around. Ergo, I haven’t done a real good grocery shop in awhile.

For most of this week the fridge was basically bare and I pantry challenged our meals. Tuesday night’s was a particularly good score, homemade frozen pizza!

Over the Fridays in August, I made the regular six pizzas that Bryan grilled, but we had lots of leftovers because not all the kids were home. Once they cooled I wrapped them in heavy-duty aluminum foil and built a stash in the freezer.

It was soooo nice to bake these up for a quick dinner this week. Alongside a big bowl of caesar salad, it made for a super easy dinner.

I highly recommend making extra pizza to freeze.

What I’ve Been Listening/Watching

To complement our CBS study of Psalms, I’ve started a playlist of songs based on them. I already had quite a few saved. It’s been nice to listen to during my car journeys.

As far as TV is concerned….After sharing about Bones last week, I wandered into a season where the content was more questionable than I’m comfortable with. So, going on record to say I wish I could recommend it but I can’t.

I switched my tv binge to Castle, a show I never saw when it was on the air regularly.

Since binging TV shows can be a coping mechanism and seeing as it’s been a trend for me the last couple weeks, I am thinking I need to have some more focus this next week.

What I’m Thinking

Part of me knows it’s okay to be patient with myself. I think there’s a spiritual malaise floating. The days since Charlie Kirk’s death have been wild and disappointing and sad.

I have observed that a person’s response to his murder is largely dependent on how they characterize him. If one sees him as a fellow Christian, then his death is a tragedy. If someone believes him to be something else (political activist, political agitator, or worse), then they come to a different conclusion.

Based on the videos I’ve seen in the last week, I’m seeing this as a tragedy, but one that God allowed for His own purposes. I’m also reminded that Christians are fighting a spiritual battle, that’s what this life is about really.

Jesus is the answer. And I am working out what the specific duties are for me as a believer in 2020s America.

For the last three decades my primary responsibility has been to disciple my children, and to a lesser extent, share what God has taught me here at Life as Mom. As others online have already said, I feel a bigger call to share my faith, but I’m trying to approach that more prayerfully and thoughtfully.

Should I be doing something more? Something different?

My first conclusion has been to pray more.

• Not because there’s power in prayer, but that there’s Power in God, and prayer is a way to communicate with Him.
• Not because I want to manipulate Him, but I want to be changed by Him.

I hope to spend some time this weekend reviewing my planner and my goals for the year. There’s a difference between puttering and trotting (or what some might call drive). Both get you forward, but at different speeds.

I want to keep moving forward. I’d love to hear your thoughts.