Pull Up a Chair: May 29, 2026

Well friends, we officially made it to the last Friday in May, and honestly, I feel like this month packed at least three separate years into it somehow. May always starts out feeling fresh and hopeful, and then somewhere around the middle of the month everything speeds up all at once. School activities, graduations, Memorial Day plans, endless errands, and suddenly everyone is standing in the grocery store wondering how summer managed to sneak up on us again.

Meanwhile, here in Georgia, summer did not exactly “sneak.” It arrived by slamming directly into us with humidity thick enough to chew.

At this point, walking outside feels less like stepping into fresh air and more like entering a slow cooker someone forgot to unplug.

Life at Shady Pines

The free-range seniors at Shady Pines continue to keep things lively around here. This week’s excitement centered around the thermostat, which somehow becomes a family debate every single year the moment temperatures rise above seventy-five degrees.

There are apparently two kinds of people in this world: people who are hot and people who think everyone else is being dramatic. Unfortunately, they all live in the same house.

At one point, I walked into the living room to find a fan pointed in one direction, a blanket draped over someone else, and at least one passive-aggressive comment being made about “freezing to death indoors.” Honestly, I should probably start selling tickets at this point because it is the same performance every summer.

And yet somehow, despite the complaints, nobody wants to go sit outside either.

Curious.

This Week in the Wilderness

This week felt like one long series of “while I’m up, I should also…” moments. You know exactly what I mean. You get up to refill your coffee, remember laundry needs switching, notice something on the counter that belongs in another room, check your phone halfway there, forget what your original task even was, and suddenly twenty minutes have passed and your coffee is cold.

That has been the overall energy of this entire week.

I also hit that seasonal point where my brain starts insisting I should completely reorganize my life because the calendar is about to flip to June. New month energy always convinces me I am about to become a radically more organized person, despite all available historical evidence suggesting otherwise.

Still, the optimism is admirable.

What’s Saving Me This Week

Cold fruit. That is it. That is the answer.

Watermelon, strawberries, grapes straight from the refrigerator… suddenly all my meals start revolving around whatever feels coldest and easiest to grab. Summer eating always becomes less about complicated cooking and more about survival with snacks.

I have also officially reached iced coffee season. There comes a point every year where hot coffee no longer feels emotionally appropriate by afternoon, and we have crossed that line.

Of course, this does not stop me from drinking regular coffee in the morning while pretending I am not already sweating.

Small Joys This Week

One thing I have been appreciating lately is how late the evenings stay bright this time of year. There is something comforting about not feeling rushed the second dinner is over. The whole day feels softer somehow when sunset takes its time.

A few evenings this week, I sat outside for a little while after the heat eased up just enough to tolerate it. The neighborhood sounded alive in that familiar summer way. Lawnmowers in the distance, kids laughing somewhere nearby, birds settling into the trees, and the occasional screen door slamming shut.

Nothing extraordinary happened, but honestly, that is part of what made it feel nice.

I think we sometimes overlook how healing ordinary moments can be.

A Moment of Honesty

I have been reminding myself lately that not every season needs to be productive in a visible way. Sometimes life is simply about maintaining things, caring for people, keeping yourself going, and getting through the week with your sense of humor mostly intact.

And frankly, that counts too.

There is so much pressure to constantly improve, accomplish, organize, optimize, and “make the most” of every moment that we forget we are allowed to simply live our lives too.

Some weeks are not about achievement. Some weeks are about surviving the heat, drinking enough water, answering the important emails, and letting yourself rest when you need to.

That is still a life well lived.

Before You Go

As May comes to an end and June waits right around the corner, I am trying not to rush ahead too quickly. Summer has a way of speeding up once it gets going, and before long we will all be talking about back-to-school displays showing up too early in stores.

But for now, I am holding onto these slower evenings, cold drinks, and quiet little moments where life feels simple for a while.

So wherever this Friday finds you, I hope you find a little time to slow down this weekend. Sit on the porch for a while if the mosquitoes allow it. Eat something cold straight from the refrigerator. Watch the sky change colors at sunset. Ignore something nonessential until Monday.

The laundry will wait.

And if not, honestly, it probably needed to learn patience anyway.