

I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow.
This usually means doing the completely logical thing: working twice as hard so I can rest.
There are lists for the trip, lists for the house and lists for the work that needs to happen while I’m gone. There are reservations to confirm, clothes to reconsider and approximately 47 things I’ve suddenly decided must be completed before I leave.
Why do we do this?
We treat rest like something we have to earn by exhausting ourselves first. As though we must arrive at vacation depleted enough to justify taking it.
I’m trying something different this time.
This is a girls’ family trip, which means my husband will be home—and perfectly capable of picking up some of the slack while I’m gone. That gives me some breathing room. I don’t need to leave the fridge fully stocked, stop the mail or prepare for every possible scenario before I walk out the door.
He can handle what comes up. The world will continue turning.
Because the point of stepping away isn’t to prove how much I can accomplish before I go. It’s to actually step away.
So, I’m giving myself permission to leave a few boxes unchecked.
Maybe that’s where the break really begins.

TODAY’S PICKS
THE FEATURE
My Daughter, Myself.
Her daughter hit puberty the same year she hit menopause, down to the same breakouts. She started wondering whether that mirroring meant real change, or just a reflection.
Did You Know?
Octopuses have three hearts, and two of them stop beating when they swim.
Turns out this book is partly narrated by one too.
THE REFLECTION
After a Long Rest, the Butterflies Are Back.
Thirty years into her marriage, a psychic tells her the problem isn't her husband. It's that she stopped chasing anything of her own.
THE WILDCARD
The Graveyard That Made Me Kiss a Frog.
A field behind an unmarked building in rural Wisconsin holds hundreds of giant fiberglass molds, one giant frog included. Free, open 24 hours, and stranger than it sounds.
If you know someone who'd love this, send it to them.
That's the whole ask.
There's something in it for you too.
Details below.







