August Monthly Recap

August was full of planned events and unplanned events, stress and grief, happy moments and hard conversations. I’m trying to put into words what this past month has been like and I am exhausted. I am emotionally drained, and working on filling that part back up. This month didn’t allow me the rest and space like the month of July offered, but maybe that was okay.

My grandpa passed away this month – from the first week of August finding out he was in the hospital, to the second week learning of his passing, to the third week making the decision not to attend his funeral. It was a hard month of grief and closure and making hard decisions.

Interspersed during that time were trips to Minneapolis and Sioux City to see friends and family. We spent a lot of time with neighbors outside around a fire pit including hosting a breakfast on our patio of eggs and bacon. Taking pictures for my friends and neighbors.

This month is what balancing looks like: holding grief and happiness in the same hand, holding a sick kiddo as my priority and feelings of guilt about not pulling my weight on the team, holding feelings of resentment and hope for the future in one breath. Balancing doesn’t mean perfectly aligned, to me, it means ebbs and flows and trying to center.

It’s been a month – the good and the bad.

Creative Business Activities

*Please reach out to me as soon as possible if you would like to be on my Fall schedule. I have limited dates available.*

Read. Watch. Listen. Learn.

Read

I am using Goodreads to track my reading, rate books and write some reviews. I HIT MY 2021 READING GOAL IN AUGUST! Last year, I put a focus on reading again and that habit has continued into this year.

Books Completed in August: 3 books

• Running Home – Jessica Kennelly
  • My sister-in-law wrote this book! I am so proud of her. I love the story and the pace of the writing. GO BUY IT NOW! You’ll love this heartwarming book on love and self-love.

• Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Another book with great character exploration and a journey to self-acceptance. Loved the story and characters in this 24 hour timeframe.

• The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities – Kate Bowler
  • I have read Kate’s book, Everything Happens for a Reason And Other Lies I’ve Loved. This book is a deep dive analysis on women Christian celebrities and how she categorizes them. I found it so interesting because I grew up with names like Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer in my house. I am also pretty up to date with current female Christian “leaders”.

YTD Total: 42 of 41 books

Watch

• Dark History with Bailey Sarian | I have only watched a few of the episodes, but I was fascinated by the Trail of Tears (this was one of the topics I would choose to do book reports and essays on) and the history of birth control.
• Shot in the Dark | Netflix docuseries about the people that film the clips we see on the news. Fascinating! I had no idea this was even a thing.

Listen

I listen to a lot of podcasts, audiobooks, and music. Here are the highlights from the past month.

• Oh Shoot! with Cassidy Lynn | Photography Podcast

Learn

I love learning new things and am making space for more future learnings.

• Photography Mentorship with Rebekah Melancon. I spent time learning another photographer’s editing workflow and honing my own editing style. It was so amazing to see another creative’s process and it gave me so many ideas.

• Community Choir. I joined my community’s municipal choir and performed with them at the Huxley Prairie Festival. It was so much fun! I hadn’t read sheet music in awhile (since high school, maybe?).

• Photographer Friends for the WIN! I met with Marianne Pacha for coffee, and it has been amazing to have another creative to “talk shop” with, review photos and encourage each other. By far the best meet up this month.

• Ankeny Farmers Market. This is only 20 minutes from my house and I loved the setup and variety of vendors. Lexi and I met my friend, Hannah, there and had a blast.

What do you do when you have hard times?

Let me know in the comments.