Happy Saturday! This week has been a blur.

The Small Moments of Parenting

I’ve been with my daughter at “nationals”—her end-of-the-season dance competition that caps off 11 months of work, training, and regional competitions. I’m spending hours running the halls of a giant hotel, from dressing room to performance rooms and back (I logged 12k+ steps yesterday!), so I’m writing this feeling very grateful to be sitting still for a few moments.

All of this spectating over the past few days has made me realize what a joy it is to watch someone you love follow their passion.

Before having kids, I never quite understood how it could be even moderately entertaining for my parents to sit on the sidelines—often on metal bleachers, wooden benches, or some sort of rickety lawn chair—watching me play softball, or cheer, or twirl baton (DO NOT DARE LAUGH I promise you this was cool back in the long-ago 90s days).

But now I get it. The joy I feel watching my kids is tenfold any joy I feel doing anything for myself. So while I’m exhausted, it’s also been a really fun week. I love watching her be so fully herself for those few minutes she’s on stage.

That’s all. It’s the small moments of parenting that really get me sometimes. 🙂

Anyhow!

Enjoy this week’s roundup of good reads and shopping picks. Any other dance moms out there?!

Around the Web

A fun look at World Cup fan fashion! Whose vibe do you like best??

A veteran UPS driver shares all the exact ways he keeps cool

The 9 best countries for Americans to move to

The best healthy eating advice of 2026

What happens when you eat avocado toast every day

“Invisible kitchens” are apparently the new trend!

Could the Travis + Taylor wedding end up costing $20 million?!

Signs you’re showering too much

I can confirm… and much to my dismay… the tweens are indeed Sun-In Curious. What’s even worse is that they have no regard for our hard-earned wisdom and warning about this

How to become a more resilient person

For all my fellow 90s girls, this interview with the two remaining members of TLC is a walk down memory lane

Thank you for taking the time to read! I hope you’ll join me on Substack to read the rest of this post.