Summer Pause

Breath In. Breath Out. Rest.

Embroidered Wedding Dress, Fern Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Happy Mid Summer, My Friends!

Another unseasonably hot day. Son home from grand 10,000 mile adventure around the Western United States; Daughter coming home in a few days.¹

Lupine Stem on Wedding Dress Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

And I’m thinking it’s time to pause.

Breath in. Breath out. Rest.²

Astilbe, 2025 Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Celebrate color. Drink iced tea.

Iced Tea Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Hang out with my friends on Kinship as we explore Objects Embodied.³

Gram’s Mirror in a Tree, 2025 Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

And lean into feeling like a fish out of water, in the company of family and friends, new and old.⁴

A Fish Out of Water, Ottauquechee River Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Shell pea season is over.

We’re shifting from strawberries to blueberries.

Compost - Pea Pods 2025 Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Like Lilly, I hold my head high, face the light, and keep showing up.

But I know that if I’m going to have energy for the long haul, which the next four years, at least, certainly will be, I need to rest.

Morning Light Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Lilly and I will be back in September. Refreshed. Renewed. Ready.

Compost July 10, 2025 Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

With gratitude for you being you.

Take care,

Lyn

Compost, Mid July Photos by Lyn Swett Miller

Breathe in. Breathe out. Rest.

1. It is amazing to me that at 25 and 23 our children want to spend a month with us - - a few weeks at “family camp” here in Vermont and then a few weeks with extended family in Maine. What a gift. As one rests before starting law school and the other prepares for her second year of full time work at an elementary school, we will eat tabbouleh and Caprese salads, play some pickle ball (I hope), swim in the ocean and rest. Together.

I’m all in.

2. Rest. A pause. This is what compost taught me.

Action by inaction - - humans let the pile alone, so the pile can be (and therefore do) what it’s meant to be. I have found I need to let my head take a back seat for a while so the rest of me can be me, from the heart, with my hands and the all of my entire being…not doing, not thinking…being. Such a challenge.

3. Practice Groups are collaborative, co-facilitated gatherings of people exploring…together. I’ll let you know what emerges when I’m back in the Fall.

4. We moved away from our beloved house and garden in Hanover, NH on August 1, 2024 - just a year ago. We are all adjusting to our new home and this new phase. It feels right to honor the anniversary of this transitional time together…and to lean into the all of it.