Humor, Life, What I Kept

What I Kept – May 2026

Kari

I began writing this series in May of 2022, not intending to make it a tradition. But it stayed—and so did you. Thank you for showing up each month.

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We got a goose
His name is Gary
Mike sent this from the driving range. I’m so grateful for this photo. We didn’t know what this summer was going to look like.
Ella on the last day of first grade – 2015 💜
Anna and I — mostly me, if we’re being honest — created this while waiting for our flight home to Chicago after our 2018 trip to California. We were talking on the phone the other day about how hard it can be to find affordable food while traveling as a flight attendant, and I remembered this.
I finally found her…on Etsy
20 years ago – look at little Anna
Look what I got for my birthday.
If you know, you know.
If you don’t, here’s the answer.
Biscuits after waking up from what Ella would call a fat nap.
Ella’s best friend does her hair like this at school. My best friend used to do my hair like this too.
Years of journals… so much life inside those pages.
One of two pictures

My friend Mark and his wife Tara are supper club devotees—anniversaries, birthdays, random Tuesdays that deserve celebrating. Through his blog I’ve picked up years of recommendations, filed them away, always meaning to go. Mike and I finally made it last week, for our 20th wedding anniversary.

We chose the Hob Nob on Lake Michigan and arrived early, 5 pm on a Wednesday—our actual anniversary. We landed a window seat facing the lake, which felt like a gift. We were present in a way we don’t always manage to be. Phones away the entire night, except for two pictures, proof that it happened.

Thank you, Mark, for the years of nudging. We’ll be back.

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I haven’t been sharing photos of myself for a while. I just haven’t liked the way I look.
But today I’m making an exception because these two pictures tell a story I want to remember.
The first one is me getting into the hammock for the first time this season. Shoulders up by my ears.
The second is an hour later. No phone. Just birds, nature, and conversation with Mike.
There’s something in the second photo that feels worth paying attention to.

I’ve kept this song in my phone all month, listening to it off and on. I found it on TikTok a few months ago—Be Like a Woman by Chris Rainbow.

It turns out it was released in 1979, never charted, and quietly disappeared for decades. Then in 2026, it found new life on TikTok and is suddenly sitting at number 92 on the charts… 47 years later.

Chris Rainbow died in 2015 at the age of 68, never knowing this second chapter was coming for his music. There’s something really moving about that—how something can be finished in one moment of time and still bloom again in another.

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53 thoughts on “What I Kept – May 2026”

  1. Look at you, Hobnobbing at a cool supper club! I’m glad you got to try it out. What did you guys order? Everything we’ve ever gotten has been fantastic; I’m just curious.

    ’70s pop is a guilty pleasure, but I’ve never even heard of Chris Rainbow before reading this. I like the song a lot though! It’s certainly on point with other pop hits of the decade. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Right?? It was such a lovely experience, friend. I can see why you and Tara love going.

      I got the whitefish and Mike got shrimp. We skipped appetizers and went straight for drinks instead—an old fashioned, of course (Mike got a beer). And dessert too—I got creme brulee. I always get creme brulee when a restaurant has it. So good.

      The staff, the service, the view… it was amazing.

      I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve been listening to it on repeat—even Ella loves it. 💜

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  2. I took my son to my local UU church (a good recommendation from the blogger 50 Happens), and I was so happy to see the elderly man up front whom I’ve seen before wearing a gnome hat. Just a red, felted hat shaped like a cone. He took it off for the service, then put it back on as soon as it was done, and then there was an encore by the visiting musician, so he took it off again. I loved watching its progress in front of me, and I’m so grateful to have found a place where he is at home.

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    1. I love this so much. There’s something so quietly joyful about that image—the hat coming and going with the music and the moment.

      And I love that you and your son have found a place that feels like home. That kind of belonging is no small thing. 💜

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  3. There’s something so quietly comforting in the collection of things you save and share. I love the passage from the book, the one about how taking photos has changed. I have such nostalgia for so many aspects of our pre-phone days. And then I have to remind myself that this whole post wouldn’t exist without your phone. How to reconcile that with the two images of you? Because that second one–it speaks volumes. It shouts at me to put down the damn phone. I keep trying to find some kind of balance. How to keep the baby while throwing out the bath water. These compilations help me think about that every month you share them.

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    1. I feel that same tension too—the desire for less, for more presence, and also knowing that this is how we connect and share with each other now.

      I don’t think I’ve figured out the balance either. But I do think that hammock moment you saw in the photos says something real about what happens when we step away for a while. I think my balance used to feel more natural pre-Ella high school, and now I feel like I’m slowly coming back to myself.

      I’m so glad you enjoy them, my friend. This means so much to me. 💜

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  4. I love so much of this! The goose, the Viola Davis quote, the photo of Ella on the last day of 1st grade, the magic 8 ball art, the gnome meme, and just everything. I hope the month of June is good to you!

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  6. Wow, that first quote is wonderful. I love the use of the word “broken” there — “broken through to joy” implies hard work and even damage, and, wow, how true that can be.

    GARY.

    Wow, Viola. Yes.

    Happy anniversary!!!!!

    I love relaxed Kari. <3 (Who is beautiful unrelaxed, too, btw.)

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    1. I love that quote too. It was actually at the very beginning of the book, and I had to close it after reading it—just sit with it for a day before I could keep going. It stopped me like that.

      You are so sweet, my friend. I’m so grateful for you. 💜

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    1. Isn’t that a great quote?

      Thank you for reading it all—I really appreciate it. 💜

      If you’re referring to the book the first quote came from, it’s The Fifth Season by Mark Nepo.

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      1. I’m familiar with Mark Nepo. The first quote is just wonderful. So simple and true.

        I’m a sucker for photographs. Images can pull me into quite a bit, but I loved it all anyway. 😊

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  10. I ❤️❤️❤️❤️ your bday wall art!!!

    I love your pics! I did a photo compare like that with a friend in the nineties, to get him to see that he needed to slow down.

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    1. Thank you! I love it too! I saw it on Etsy and knew I needed it. 🤣

      I think we all need a reminder like that. I’ve been thinking about it all week. 💜🌳

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  13. The Viola Davis quote perfectly nails my ethos of parenting (and of teaching to an extent). Both Rick and I grew up in a home with some levels of secrecy; his especially was chill and silent. Our boys benefitted from our experience and our vow to be much different parents.

    I love that you share your keepsakes with us. They always resonate with me. Have a terrific June, and I hope Mike continues to make good, steady, strong progress.

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    1. I love this. I think so many of us don’t fully understand our childhood experiences until we’re raising children of our own. It sounds like you and Rick were very intentional about the kind of home you wanted to create, and what a gift that is to your boys.

      And thank you. It always means a lot when these keepsake posts resonate with someone else. 💜

      We’re so grateful for Mike’s progress and hopeful for more good things ahead.

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  14. Ok, I went down the rabbit hole and read about your trip to California. OMG! How fun to spend that time with your oldest daughter!!!! I agree; don’t ever let people talk you out of visiting ‘tourist’ sites! That drives me nuts! They are popular for a reason!!! I was particularly squealing that you went to Pump! And the night out at Boys Town sounds like a total blast!!!!

    Back to the present . . . I adore the goose. When my kids were little, we used to take a long walk down our street to see the goose on someone’s front porch that was dressed for each season. I’m so glad that Mike is feeling better and enjoying time at the driving range. And Happy 20th Anniversary to you both! The Hob Nob sounds like the perfect place to celebrate. I love the wedding photo with Anna! A month after you got married, my husband and I took our first trip to California to celebrate our 20th anniversary. It doesn’t seem that long ago to me! XO

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    1. I love that you went back and read about that trip! It was such a great time, and she and I still talk about it. She and her boyfriend went to OC a few weeks ago (free airfare!), and she liked it a lot better than LA, but she’d still love to take him there someday. We’d like to do another girls trip too..we had a blast together.

      The goose was an impulse buy, but it felt necessary. He’s an indoor goose for now—we’re currently looking for a graduation cap and gown for him…

      I love that you took a trip to California for your 20th! Where did you go…Napa? It goes fast, doesn’t it? 😘

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      1. Yes, Napa and Sonoma. We fell in love with the area. Of course, back then, tastings were $5-$10. We’ve gone two other times since, but I don’t know if we’ll ever go back. The prices are out of control now.

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  15. Gary the Goose is awesome! I love the gnome meme! That’s so me ….I’m weird, and shall proudly reamain so! It’s so nice that Mike could go to the driving range. What a blessing. I love all the things you kept! Happy birthday – I hope your gift gives you many good answers!

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  16. Loving the Magic 8 art.

    Reservations out for dinner are rare these days, but always extra special. (One day I’ll learn to stop taking pictures of food, they never look good and take me out of the moment!)

    Digging the tune. Hope his spirit is seeing it chart. (I’d love if the trend of layered harmonies would loop back around!)

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    1. I love it too!

      I usually take pictures of our food! But this time I kept my phone on the other side of the table. I did take a picture of my old fashioned — it was the best I’ve ever had.

      I hope his spirit is seeing it too! (Me too. 💜)

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  17. You look great in your selfie. Love the addition of the goose and the retro pics, esp the wedding one. Beautiful. Sweet Anna. What is the story behind the Fisher Price peeps – for sale somewhere? ‘I’m weird and it will happen again’. This is relatable and I think a few of my children should own a t-shirt with that saying on it. ‘Ask me again later.’ Well, I sometimes feel snappy and sometimes I feel accommodating and relaxed. It all depends on what is going on, and if I’m being honest – how I slept! ;)

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    1. The Fisher-Price Little People were at an antique store we visited one day. They’re from the ’70s, and I took a picture to share with my friend who loves all things nostalgic. Looking back, I probably should have bought a few because they were such a good price!

      And I completely agree about how much the day can depend on how you slept the night before. I’m the same way. 🤣

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  18. You named your goose, Gary? After my late father in law? 😂 Totally off topic, but have you heard that song Gary? The video is fun and the song is even more so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y1HGeoyyaI

    I’ve not heard the song you shared from the 70’s. It’s nice, though. So fun when old stuff makes a resurgence. So, nothing is ever finished, right? (much like your last post suggested!)

    Love your wedding photo. Happy anniversary to you both. I’m so glad you were able to have a nice celebration….and it’s also great that Mike is hitting some balls around.

    Of course, I knew the Eight Ball reference; I’m not an animal. 😂

    Love your relaxed, happy photo!

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    1. OMG- I forgot about your FIL! He lives on in our door goose. 💜

      I’ve never heard that song before!!

      Nothing is ever finished – I love that you tied it into the Weeding post! 😘

      Thank you, friend. May was a really good month. (For you guys, too!)

      LMAO Animal.

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  19. Gary the Goose is the perfect match for your green door. Love him!

    Oh for a large room such as Virginia Woolf wrote about. I wonder if it’s like the Library at Sissinghurst, the home of Harold Nicholson and his wife Vita Sackville-West. Vita and Virginia were known to have a long-term affair, and the library fits this description.

    I love that “mabye the extra is in the ordinary” image – I shall add it to a vision board I’m determined to do.

    Those photos of you and your realisation made me both sigh and smile. My chiropractor commented on the state of my neck last visit. I’d been ignoring it, but he was right, things have been getting to me and it shows in my shoulders and neck. I need a hammock…

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    1. Isn’t he? I love him.

      Oh, now I’m going to have to look up the Library at Sissinghurst! I had no idea about that connection. It certainly sounds like it could be the kind of room Virginia Woolf had in mind.

      I smiled when you said you’re adding the “maybe the extra is in the ordinary” image to your vision board. There was something about that one that stopped me in my tracks too.

      And yes… the shoulders and neck seem to tell on us, don’t they? I didn’t realize how much I was carrying until I saw those photos. Maybe what we both need is a hammock and a good long nap. 😘💜

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