Week In The Life™ 2025 | Ali's Tuesday

Welcome to Tuesday of Week In The Life™.

Finding my way through this project this year looks like giving myself a lot of grace: for what is and what isn't and all the little in between spaces. I'm loving collecting moments from this season of life and am thinking a lot about how I can go back into any year from the last twenty years and look at what one looked like in our lives. And gratitude, always gratitude.

PS: I'm doing longer form writing this year over on Substack with a weekly newsletter called Echoes + Evidence. Today I wrote about my earliest memories of autism (before it became a story thread in my life).

For today's journaling, in addition to my notebook pages below, I'm going to respond to the prompt "What I see when I look at this photo is..." It's a lovely opportunity to capture a surface story or to go a little deeper into the story layers of the photo that might not be visible unless you were living my one wild + precious life.

Here's a look at my Tuesday:

When I look at this photo I see my best girl's early morning enthusiasm for her first meal. I also see a poster that's hung in our house for years now that I hope the kids look at every once in a while and take to heart.

When I look at this photo I see myself whispering to myself: Sky before screens. Sky before screens. Sky before screens. And I can't wait to see if I can get pumpkins to grow up those arches in a new spot (removed some grass to plant the pumpkins but they haven't' taken off yet).

When I look at this photo I see a 16 year old who is a hard-working, kind, fun-loving member of the family. I see evidence of her daily life at the tail end of the school year: backpacks for school and volleyball, cozy blankets, hair products and make up. I see a girl with goals who is marching into the future one step at a time.

When I look at this photo I see summer.

When I look at this photo I see a backyard that has transformed over the last 15 years as I've added more and more plants and flowers. I see projects in progress. I see a daily sanctuary.

When I look at this photo I see my life. I see evidence of my existence. I see support for my family. I see a community of people cheering each other on as they document their stories. I see home.

When I look at this photo I see a passion for words and a desire to write and persistence to make it happen. I see tools that help me tell my stories and I see time spent right there doing the work to make connections between the past and present.

When I look at this photo I see sisters who absolutely know they are sisters.

When I look at this photo I see my heart.

When I look at this photo I see myself in my office that happens to be in my house. I see the mess of papers and to-do lists and new glasses that make sitting here for hours at a time much more enjoyable. I see reminders to stay curious and to lift voices that aren't my own who have their own unique story to share.

When I look at this photo I see myself doing one of my daily walk-arounds to prune or harvest roses and peonies that are exploding right now. I see thorns and I see blooms and understand that sometimes we gotta have both. I also see a hummingbird feeder that needs to be refilled and cleaned.

When I look at this photo I see the cycle of life.

When I look at this photo I see a young man making his way. I see someone who is charting their own course and I'm finding myself feeling so very thankful for this time when older kids are living here too. More love. More space. More conversations. More connections. Softer.

When I look at this photo I see two high level athletes working on their health project around the table that continues to be a container for so many stories. I also see the art cart that I brought downstairs to have at the other table (what I'm now calling my "downstairs office") being used for their project.

When I look at this photo I see dinner in progress: Cesar salad from Costco with leftover chicken thighs. I also see evidence of a space that's been well lived-in since 2010.

When I look at this photo I see the contrast of light and dark. I see myself looking at this tall vase full of roses in the late afternoon light and hoping that I could capture what I was actually seeing. I see dreams becoming realities.

When I look at this photo I see my sanity. I see myself finally releasing myself to simply make and draw and paint and find my way. I see exploration and play and I see me.

When I look at this photo I see the Chutes + Ladders style game that Anna and Libby created for their health project. I also see their friendship and whispered conversations and growth from last year to this year.

When I look at this photo I see fuel for life.

When I look at this photo I see both my girls and how old they are and how much I enjoy them both.

When I look at this photo I see a nail date with my girls. I see an end of the school year celebration. I see time well spent. I might question the nails for volleyball players but I decided a while ago to let that go. They'll figure that one out for themselves.

When I look at this photo I see the passage of time. I see two girls who met when they were three years old who have only known life with a connection to each other. I see family. I see hopes and dreams and life being lived.

When I look at this photo I see an end of the day hang out in our bedroom. I see a place we connect and a place we watch and a place we rest.

Here's a look inside my notebook:

Something I've been enjoying recently is bringing a sketch book up to bed (or I'll use my iPad and Procreate) to draw or play while watching basketball or YouTube videos with Aaron about AI. Last night I was thinking about this notebook and some of the black spaces and decided it would be fun to draw in those spaces of the notebook that weren't filled with words. I love it as a reflection of this season of my life.