Thirty Minute Days and Bookends and Books

Hey friends! What have you been reading lately? I have to admit, my reading life has been quiet lately. I do have a few good book recs for you below, but only a few right now. I was talking to a friend in a similar stage of life -parenting and homeschooling big kids, while also parenting babies and preschoolers, taking our big kids to various sports, attempting to maintain healthy relationships – and we agreed, we have a grand total of about thirty minutes of “free time” a day. That’s all the time there is right now that doesn’t involve a home task like folding laundry or a parenting moment like reading to children.

Thirty whole minutes.

Thirty minutes to exercise, reply to texts and emails, shop for anything we need online, take a shower, work on a project, or do any other thing that doesn’t involve the care and keeping of home and family. Thirty minutes to do all that is required to be the healthy, put-together, accomplished modern women we’re supposed to be. Thirty minutes to decide what’s worthwhile.

“Yep, thirty minutes,” we nodded and ruefully smiled in solidarity.

Naming that to a friend and stating it here now is simply sharing this piece of my life. It’s not to complain or to say, “someone, tell me how to squeeze out of my life more usable time for my own pursuits!” The reality is simple: that thirty minutes of free time is all I expect in a typical day. I’m learning to sit more comfortably with that reality. When I take on a project, be it writing or home improvement or anything, I know that thirty minute time slot per day is all that project is going to get in this season.

I keep on using the phrase “in this season” because I am aware that it won’t always be like this. Someday my small children won’t require my full attention in their every waking moment (side note: my 12-month-old is my biggest handful yet, y’all), because they won’t be small, and that fact catches at my heart and compels me to cherish the season for what it is. Rest assured, that’s what I’m doing. But it’s impossible to ignore this: right alongside being happily present in the glorious life season I’m in is learning to be okay in the Thirty Minute Days reality.

So for now, I do a lot of things less than I used to. Yes, I even read less than I used to. But I still read. I still breathe. The two go hand-in-hand in a way I can’t explain. Some of you know what I mean. I read a nonfiction book for a few minutes every morning before the kids get up. I read a fiction book every night before I fall asleep. I literally bookend my days. And I stay sane. Another hand-in-hand fact that I can’t explain but that is absolutely true. Bookending my days with actual books keeps me a feeling like an actual person. Sure, I wish I had more time and mental space for writing my own stuff. Someday I’ll even watch a TV series or something outside of my current norm, but for now, book ending my days and living with the fact that between those bookends, I will only have thirty minutes to pursue all the other things is alright. My prayers in these Thirty Minute Days often are only an incoherent “oh, help.” But what I’m really saying is “Please. Help me seek and share delight and love in this day without wishing anything away, help me to be wise in all these minutes, help me to live the life You called me to live with joy.”

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The Books I’ve Read in October/November

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The Thursday Murder Club – This is one of those books whose characters you instantly fall in love with and whose pages you can’t turn fast enough. The pace of the plot was perfect, the setting so real, and the writing both humorous and thoughtful. I wouldn’t call myself a big mystery lover, but if I am going to like a mystery, it’s gotta’ have a lot of good literary elements around it. Five stars. (Just got the sequel on my Kindle from the library — squee!)

The Last Chance Library – A novel that’s an ode to local libraries and the people who love them, as well as a delayed coming of age narrative that’s becoming more common in modern storytelling. I liked the setting, the writing style, and most of the characters (the main character was a bit exasperating, but that’s part of the plot). I sure did want to go to my local library simply to be there every time I picked up this book! Four stars.

The Pearl Thief – I have waited far too long to pick up this prequel to Code Name Verity and I hereby swear to read everything by Elizabeth Wien as quickly as possible. Her two books I’ve read so far are a unique combination of quality characters navigating the new postmodern world after WWI and into WWII with fabulous settings and plenty of action to keep readers absolutely enthralled.

Gentle and Lowly – I started this in September on the recommendation (and as a gift from) my parents and have since realized lots and lots of people are reading this book right now and that is a very good thing. It’s full of the kind of truths churched people need to hear as much as unchurched people about who God is and how God really loves us all. I have to admit, I don’t always love the writing style – when you read as many Puritan writers as Dane Ortlund, that probably tends to affect your own writing a bit – but the content is profound. Simple, but profound, and profoundly lost in my own reading of the Bible often. I always take my time with nonfiction (I mean, I give it about ten minutes a day so yeah, that’s going to take a while), but this is a book I’m going through even more slowly than my usual pace, taking it in each short chapter in a morning and thinking it over for a few days between. I’ve got two more chapters to go. Five stars.

Wonderland – Not my favorite middle grade novel I’ve read lately. Too rushed, too heavy, too many characters left undeveloped. 2 stars.

Honey – A short and light story by the author of Pie, my favorite middle grade novel I read this year. I’m thinking of reading it aloud to my kids in the next few weeks. Honey doesn’t have as compelling a mystery or fully developed characters as Pie, but it’s a solid book just the same. 3.5 Stars.

A Place to Hang the Moon – I already read this beautiful, moving book by myself earlier this year. Now, one of my children is studying this time period in school, so it didn’t bother me at all to read this one again, this time aloud to my kids. They are enjoying it and asking lots of good questions about the historical time period (they’re ages 12, 10, 7, and 4). I don’t know that I would pick it to read aloud to just my 7-year-old or 4-year-old, it’s really more geared towards the 8 and above group, but it’s the kind of quality literature that everyone can get something out of. (Psst – I did skip parts of the “rat catching” chapter since I knew that one is kind of graphic for the little ones and largely unnecessary for the plot).

I’ve also got a lot of books piling up on my To-Be-Read shelf (aka my nightstand) but as you can imagine, lines from the song “Let It Be” play in my mind pretty constantly in these days. You know, in these Thirty Minute Days I keep going on about…they go by in about thirty minutes, too, it seems, so the name has double meaning! But the books will still be there when I get to them, won’t they?

Until then, happy reading and here’s to living joyfully in whatever season you find yourself in today.

Much love to you,

Mia/Alana