End of May Recap & Summer Bucket List
A Subtle Reclaiming Rituals Challenge for you.
Hello beautiful friends! As of the time I’m writing this, there are just under 300 free subscribers and 5 paid ones to this ‘stack, which is so exciting to me! Every time one of you has upgraded to the paid level, I’ve made myself a cup of coffee (or tea) and toasted to you! Seriously, haha! I imagine you sitting in front of me smiling and I cheers my cup and you cheers back and it’s a lovely little moment, I hope you’ve felt it!
It is the first time in my life I’ve enabled a paid option linked to my writing (after blogging for nearly a decade and creating free content online for nearly twice that!) and it is not lost on my what when you allow a few bucks to leave your account every month to support a writer who’s life and work you care about. (In this economy?!) So thank you! And to everyone here, thank you!
Many of you are here from my Reclamation email list (Hello past workshop participants and those following along!) and I’m excited to use this platform to share more deeply about not only my own reclamation journey, my new therapeutic coaching business, but also my personal life which I have felt unaligned about sharing publicly on social media for a while now. So this feels like the safe space to do that! If that’s not what you want and you are on my email list for periodic program updates and announcements, no hard feelings, feel free to unsubscribe from this substack (it won’t unsubscribe you from my traditional email list).
Okay now that we’ve got that out of the way…
How was your MAY? If you’ve got the ability to comment (as a paid subscriber), I’d love to hear what all went down for you this month! I want it all, the good the bad the chaotic. How are you doing? When you comment, go leave a little note of encouragement on someone else’s comment too because I think that would be a cool thing to do, don’t you?
Here on the Reclamation Substack we had a hefty May! We talked about feeling feelings we’d describe as suffering (things like anxiety, guilt, shame, etc) and how those feelings are related to one another in my essay on The Etymology of Feelings. If you’d like a glimpse into RRT perspective on suffering and how we alleviate it by working in reverse in a session, you should check it out. (TLDR; it’s all rooted in fear.)
We also covered the Wheel of the Year (in a non-witchy way) and I broke down what this ancient calendar is all about, how I use it in my reclaiming rituals journey, and shared about how you can use it to track and celebrate seasonal shifts in your own life.
At the very end of April (which I’m counting as a May themed essay) I also shared with you all about the festival of Beltane (from the Wheel of the Year) and how I use it as a mile marker shifting from the energy of spring into summer. It’s all about banishing shame and I think you might like it. Especially if you come from a high control religion or were raised in purity culture like I was.
And a quick announcement: I created a tab at the top of the Reclamation substack home page where I’ll be adding all the Reclaiming Rituals themed essays, updates, and resources so if you’re on a similar journey of finding ways to celebrate holidays and shifting seasons outside of religion, you can find those easily at any time. This series is ongoing and available in full to paid subscribers. (This was previously my paid ebook series I was writing but I moved it to this space.)
There’s also some really good stuff from April in case you missed it- I wrote a very personal essay about my health sabbatical I took from Feb-April can be found here. My vulnerable post about professional burnout and leaving network marketing can be found here. And a personal favorite essay on deconstructing here.
RECLAIMING RITUALS: A SUMMER BUCKET LIST
I saw this idea on Instagram and I thought it was such a great way to mark the seasonal shift from spring to summer. It’s not necessarily linked to a festival on the wheel of the year, but just in general part of my Reclaiming Rituals journey of slowing down, paying attention, and making things special outside of the big religious or political narratives.
Right now, at the end of May (and the beginning of summer break if you have school aged kids) we are between markers on the Wheel of the Year. We had Beltane on May 1st and we are getting closer to the Summer Solstice on June 20th. What I’m saying is, I’m going off script a bit here but that’s what this whole journey is about isn’t it? ;)
Let’s talk about my June Reclaiming Rituals challenge for you!
I’d like you to sit down and make a summer bucket list. There are no real rules here but in the spirit of celebrating seasonal shifts and following nature, I’d suggest you choose some things that get you out into nature and connecting with it, try to focus on memories and experiences over things and if you’d like an added challenge, try to avoid things that are heavily linked to needing to buy a bunch of stuff you don’t actually need. This is not a pinterest contest for who can create the most viral shareable summer memories. It’s about you feeling into the shifting season and finding ways to mark it that connect you to it instead of bypassing it.
My family is in a bit of a transitional season right now as I am shifting careers from network marketing to being completely on my own again as a business owner for the first time in a decade. Because of that, we’re budgeting more than we have in a while and a big summer vacation or trip just didn’t align with our financial needs and goals this summer. I saw all of that and it sounds very flowery and enlightened but I’ll be honest, the mom guilt really started to weight on me.
I had to really check in with myself and work through some rising feelings of guilt and shame surrounding the strain that me shifting careers has put on our family in a season where cost of living in our state is sky rocketing. It took a lot of being out in my garden touching plants, an RRT session with my mentor Jon to clear shame that was so heavy it was causing me complete paralysis, and a fair amount of journaling with tarot cards as my prompts to help me put language around what I knew deep in my core to be true.
So on our first true day of summer break (yesterday) we set off to pick up some craft supplies to make a Summer Bucket List poster. We all sat down and everyone in the family got to suggest a bucket list item. It had to be agreed on by everyone before it made the list. But we were flexible to let each family member pick a few things that were things they were interested in doing. For example, my son chose surfing lessons with his grandpa. My daughter might not care about surfing but she was willing to go along with the idea.
A few ideas got vetoed. Namely things that were outrageously expensive like one of my kids suggesting a Disney stay-cation. We ended up compromising on “theme park” which opened us up to a lot more options and waiting for a promo or finding friends with extra tickets.
I had a few things saved in an Instagram collection that I’d seen online. Mostly fun little things I wanted to do or places within a day’s drive I wanted to visit. We are lucky to live in a place where people from all over the world come on vacation but no matter where you are, I’m sure there’s some cool national parks or nature spots that would be beautiful and exciting to go spend some time at.
Okay, I just have to tell you one that I’m so excited about that anyone could do no matter where they live. I saw it on tiktok so I can’t take credit but I wanna tell you in case you want to add it to your bucket list. It’s picnic fondue. Basically you get chocolate bars and fruit and whatever you want to dip and as you’re enjoying nature you leave the chocolate bar (wrapped) out in the sun. When it melts, you carefully unwrap it and you are able to dip your strawberries or graham crackers in melted chocolate! How clever is that. Maybe all of you have already been doing that every summer but it was new to me and blew my mind. HAHA. I can’t wait to give it a try during a beach day.
(If you do this craft and you feel like sharing, tag me on instagram @beckarobinson or email me and show me what made your list!)
Also I would be remiss if I did not state how much growth this poster shows because as you can see, I let my kids take turn writing (and decorating) and choosing the colors and did not force them to let me write everything perfectly or choose only aesthetic colors. It’s hanging in our kitchen nook, where it absolutely does not match anything. Thank you, thank you. (I’m imagining your applause.)
So what do you think? Does a summer bucket list sound like a fun thing for you? Is trying to think of nature-based and non-consumer ideas hard or does it come easily to you? What things pull your imagination the most? Crafts? Quality time? Travel? Leave a comment and let me know!
I can’t wait to hear and see what you have on your lists. If I was making a personal list (which I might do in my journal now that I think of it) I would probably include more crafts, baking, and reading. Maybe some house projects too. I bought some of those peel and stick tiles to re-do our half bath.
May was a full month for us. Everything from purple hair to nights out to see queer burlesque performers to a last minute trip to Miami to see the Grand Prix to last day of school and a new tattoo! Photos incoming…
In the beginning of May, I started to feel the urge to switch up my hair so I bought some wigs just for fun. This lilac one was my favorite! I also felt a bit like I was playing a character which was such a theraputic thing, especially after being diagnosed Autistic earlier this year and having to work so hard these last few months to “unmask”. I’ve realized how much I mask in public and in social situations so wearing a wig when we went out was amazing because it was like, “Okay, I know I’m going to feel like I need to mask so I might as well really play up the fact that I’m a character of myself when I do that.” I’m gonna keep playing around with this concept and I’ll report back!
We got the chance (very last minute!) to get Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix tickets so we decided to make a memory and took the family to Miami for a day. We got tacos in the art district, took the kids to see the beach and enjoyed the race up close.
Up until now my husband and I have shared our 4th bedroom as an office and hobby room. But sharing the space hasn’t worked well for me so I moved all my office stuff into an empty corner of our master bedroom and created the perfect little coaching and writing space. I finally framed my diplomas and certifications (three more incoming!) and hung all my dark academia stuff. I ADORE it!
May was a month of me attempting to course correct some stuff in my body. After coming off medications and a hard core autistic burnout, my adrenals were shot and my inflammation was through the roof. I started an auto immune protocol and hyper-fixated hard core on this berry breakfast. It was unsweet vanilla coconut yogurt, fresh strawberries, frozen blueberries (key!), pecans, walnuts, and chia seeds. So good.)
And I FINALLY got my 222 tattoo. For those of you who have been around since the beginning you know that 222 was an important number to me. It’s my mom and my’s special number, it was the first repeating number I saw, I named my first business after it, and my mom got it tattooed on her years ago. So when my amazingly talented friend Sara at Pinkie posted a flash tattoo sale with a 222 design ready to go it felt too auspicious to ignore.
You guys, we made it! End of 6th grade and end of 1st grade. We survived the first year of middle school and all the newness that comes along with that. Navigating parenting with social media is weird. Let me just say that. And my youngest graduated 1st grade. Advocating for her needs neurologically in a public school environment in Florida (IYKYK) has been nothing short of exhausting and defeating but it was the journey that helped me discover my own neurodivergence and in doing so we as a family have grown so much more adaptable and supportive of each other. I’m currently waiting to hear back on a scholarship to send her to a private school that I hope will be much more aligned with her unique learning needs so if you’re the vibe-sending type, send me some good ones.
I decided in May to learn the guitar. So far, I’m 5 chords in. I want to learn how to play “Drops of Jupiter”. Any fellow elder millennials remember Train? I love the way fingers make “shapes” with each cord, that part comes easy to me. Reading music and musical theory is much harder for my brain but I really just want to be able to strum enough that I can sing along alone in my bedroom.
We hosted a pool party to kick off summer and it was so fun. I’ve been working so hard on the landscaping around out house both to save money and also because I like gardening and being outside. It was so nice to see everyone out enjoying the spaces I’d been carefully crafting all these months.
Lastly, I’ve decided that this is the Summer of Sundresses! Because I’m working to heal inflammation and get my body back to a neutral place, it is constantly shifting size and shape and shorts are a bit precarious to my ego and senses. I decided I wanted to find some flowy sundresses instead and have been on a treasure hunt among my local thrift stores. So far I’ve found an Anthropologie maxi and a Free People babydoll dress both at thrift stores in perfect condition! (Can you believe?!) If you have any favorite sundress sources please let me know!
That’s a wrap on my May recap! I hope you are doing well. Everyone I know right now seems to be in some sort of stressful or challenging transition. If you are as well, I hope that you find a bit of solidarity in something I shared here. And if you would like more support I’m now taking 1:1 clients for mimetic and RRT sessions to help clear stuff like anxiety and fear as well as anger, guilt, shame… you get the idea. Reach out at hello@beckarobinson.com for info, availability, and pricing while my website is still under construction.
Sending you love. xo, B