This is the Kos newsletter: warm email notes from a friend. Finding the simple joy in parenthood, bodies, spirituality, creativity, and beauty. Sound like your jam? Subscribe below for weekly notes.
Dear Friends,
My four dude bros are back in school. I feel like I can breathe again. Love summer but the last few weeks have been whew boy. They are so cute but also eat so much, yell so much, make messes so much, and exist so big. Tis time for some separation of church and state.
While they’re at school learning their letters, I’m scurrying around Linkedin, rattling off messages to long lost acquaintances and co-workers. Job seeking is a weird space to inhabit but I’m hopeful and feeling positive the right role and I will find each other. It’s always happened in the past. It’ll happen again.
On the homefront, my cute parents visited us in our new place for the first time. Can you believe they drove 15 hours to eat my signature spaghetti sauce and roasted spaghetti squash? We wandered botanic gardens, slurped chia seed pudding, watched the waves at the marina, and enjoyed an old spaghetti western, Apple Dumpling Gang. Keenan and I sneaked off for a few hours one night for dinner alone and I got a glimpse of what parents with grandparents near might feel like. I sat in the pew behind them on Sunday and watched her scratch my kids’ backs for an hour. My mom suprised me with a scrapbook of a bunch more baby pictures of me that she’d found in the basement. I’ve flipped through it 6 times since Saturday. My littlest boy makes the exact same ‘sneaky face’ I did at five and it’s funny how much it means to me to know that. I forgot to take a picture of my mom’s hands. I really wanted to take a picture of her hands and then our hands together. I know hers are exactly what mine will look like; small, strong, veiny. She says she hates them but I think they’re beautiful. I didn’t cry when they left but I am crying now.
Reading Lately
Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead - I found this in a nearby Little Free Library and was shocked how good it was. Sometimes the LFL are iffy. Think ballet dancers, lost love, escaping Russia, and deep peeks into the characters’ psyches. Really amazing
Trust by Hernan Diaz - Pulizter! Here we go. I’m going the Audiobook route bc it’s a biggie. Pretty epic but I’m flagging at 47% in but will persist.
Horse by Geraldine Brooks - about to start
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - reading aloud to Boy #2
What are you reading lately?
5 Things I Must Recommend
Twisty Jolly ranchers. They’re like two flavors in one jolly rancher. They look like this but don’t buy them here. Get them at Walmart or the grocery store for way less.
Purple mattress. Going on 6 years and still very happy. Medium firm, cool. In conjunction…
Floyd bed with drawers underneath. We’ve also added the attached nighstands and now matching side lamps. Low profile isn’t for everyone but I can’t believe how much I love keeping my nighttime creams and crap under the bed in a drawer instead of on a messy nightstand. Will also add that we’ve moved this 4 times and it folds up which is 1000 easier than getting a bed through a 4th floor window or up a narrow curved staircase.
Artifact Uprising prints and brass easel. We’ve had it for years and I rotate prints out. I keep it on my desk and seeing pictures of my boys as chubby babies and rascally toddlers kills me.
Perusing spooky season on Anthropolgie. Good for the witch in all of us.
You may have missed…
A rather chit chatty note - seriously very chatty
Feeling job hunt-y - always keep one foot in
Napa Valley Girls Trip -sacred time almost
It’s a Small World - Disneyland in May and book recs
Getting laid (off) - losing my job and other fun stuff
Hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you, as always, for reading the Kos Newsletter.
Like the Kos newsletter? Consider supporting my Patreon. I’ll give monthly shout-outs to all my new supporters. You can also join the Little Things Podcast Facebook group and @Toasty_kos Instagram. Thx for your support, always. xo Kos
Thanks Kos!!