Welcome to my blog titled “Five Things” where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.
So here are this week’s five things…
You may have noticed you’re receiving this on a Tuesday instead of Monday. It's been more and more challenging for me to get my Monday blogs up on time due to my school schedule and the fact that Monday’s are often travel days for us. With that in mind, I’m experimenting with posting on Tuesdays for the third quarter of 2024. We’ll see how it goes!
I’m back from my residency, and wow, it was everything I could have imagined and more! Our cohort is just an amazing group of people. We bonded quickly and spent nearly every waking moment together. The class workshops were positive, productive, and supportive. It was like having your best beta readers, who care deeply about you and your work, live with you for a week. I’ve never formally workshopped my writing before, and with this group, it was a fantastic experience. The rest of our days were filled with craft talks offered by the graduating class, readings from their theses, and faculty craft talks, which were superb. It was a lot of work, but so satisfying. I feel confident I made the right choice with this program. We all have a couple of weeks off before the more intense fall semester begins, so I may just sleep for a few days straight!
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” - Brene Brown
I’m on a cleaning spree. While we’re stationary for a while, I have a list of all the cabinets, drawers, and storage spaces that needs sorting. Since I packed nearly everything I own for my trip to Colorado, unpacking provided the perfect opportunity to tackle the first project. I cleaned my clothes closets and drawers and produced a giant garbage bag full of stuff to donate. I don’t know how things accumulate so quickly, but living in such a small space, there’s only so much that can fit. My remaining clothes are now sorted by type of clothing and color, and it makes my little OCD heart very happy.
Sometimes, I forget what airport I’m flying into. It’s a strange phenomenon. Although I am going home, our home isn’t stationary. I remember when we started this journey, we marveled that when we shut the shades at night and our pets curled up on the bed with us, no matter where we were in the country, we were home. Being back in Rhode Island, where we actually owned a home for decades, I wondered if we would feel differently. I am pleased to say our tiny, mobile home still feels like home!