what's in this email:

Things I am doing to slow down (during a busiest time of my life)
(The Slow Down Challenge) and other unrelated but always related stuff

Thursday October 1, 2026

9:19 AM

Greetings Thinkers,

The last day of September became the first day of October. Now, here we are.

Here we are, here we are, here we are.

somewhere in October

I know a song called - Somewhere in October. It's a lovely song. I'm going to put in on now. If you'd like to too, here you go.

I don't have a clear memory of when I first heard this song. Sometimes songs happen to us like that. Not this one. I just know when it came on, I liked it and I filed it away on a playlist that I have come back to again and again, all year.

And now IT IS October and the song feels even more timely for my soundtrack of life right now. This happens to be the song I built my Slow Down Playlist off of for the Full Moon Slow Down Night Ritual I did last week.

eating stuff before it spoils, is slowing down?

Last night we cooked dinner together and ate dinner together. Chicken on the grill and salad. I noticed that it may have been a first, or at least a rare time of me eating the vegetables right away.

My penchant for getting and "saving" things goes well beyond Things & Stuff and it started way before T&S too. Some of the earliest instances were probably with food. That I would buy things and then save them until they went bad seemed to be my way. Buy fresh stuff to have on hand and then don't use it soon enough! I have been very good at this in my life. So last night when we ate the leafs Joey brought home from the grocery store THE SAME DAY he got them from the grocery store, I felt very SLOW DOWN-ed.
Recall: sometimes doing it in real time, IS slowing down.

Also that we cooked at all. Yesterday I said "Maybe I would like to cook more.." . And while making a salad isn't quite Kymskitchen cooking, it was a step in that direction!

Now I have August and September to do.

Day 10 of the Slow Down Challenge, 30 days of Slow Down.

Things I did to slow down yesterday:

Things that have a quality of slow down.

1. called my Mom again. Pulled over to talk to her again so the cell phone reception wouldn't go in and out. Because that is so frustrating when you're trying to talk to someone!
   If pulling over for the phone call is slowing down, maybe making phone calls when you're not driving is the real slow down!
2. when I was leaving the house for the day at 2:15, I felt slowed down and not behind. That was a noted moment.
3. things I did in real time:
   1. noticed Duck rubbing his head on my leg in a way that was unusual. Thought it was sweet.
   2. noticed Duck peeking his head out the gate, worried about me leaving, and leaving him.
   3. made an old fashioned again when I felt like it . And maybe I should slow down on the old fashioneds. haha
   4. ​

Want to make an effort to notice more things throughout the day. will see how that goes today!

🔺

KG

​All the emails in a list ​

standouts / other thoughts

Do you capitalize the seasons? Is it Fall or is it fall?

Is noticing, slow?
Stop to smell the roses and slow down to see your friends and cohabitants. (animals and bugs that are "YOUR" animals and bugs)

Crazy from scratch.

quote(s) to consider

““Some things become visible only below a certain speed.”

​
words of the slow

unhurried — proceeding without haste
deliberate — intentional and considered rather than hurried
​
equanimity — mental calmness and steadiness, particularly amid difficulty

a collection of standouts from the Slow Down Challenge

Sometimes - do it in real time, IS slowing down

I found products I have probably saved too long for a special occasion and I used them. Now was the special occasion. Slowing down is special?

when is going to see your Mom or best friend or grandma or a grave or some other special kindred worthwhile soul, when are those visits NOT of the SLOW DOWN quality?

I have said that when I am missing the moons, I'm not living right. I slowed down enough to use the moon. To not miss the moon. Robust night time ritual. Ended the day VERY calm and relaxed and property oriented in my head.

Sometimes what’s slowing down one day may NOT be what’s slowing down the text.

music in the car: when I did listen to it, it used to be hype me up for whatever I'm on my way to, type stuff. During this, it's been a - SLOW ME DOWN for my life kind of soundtrack.

Do slow and calm go in an equation together?

slow does not necessarily mean you're late to things, and apparently it also doesn't mean you can't be early!

Seems making time for people I care about is a theme here. Maybe I do it when I'm not in slow down mode, maybe I'm doing it more in slow down mode.

Energy to you.

YES, YOU CAN SHARE THIS. If you know someone who you think would like this, please forward this email.
If you're receiving this work from a link or a forwarded message and would like to sign up to receive these directly, you can sign up for that here: sign up here.

What happens when you reply to this email? I reply to you.

ALSO - this is your open ended invite to
point out all my errors, contradictions, typos, and math mistakes! At the risk of being annoying or helpful, (just) do it!

Things you could know about me:

take this out and make it a blog post on the website

order: newest adds at the top, older things at the bottom

(diamond as a shape is essentially 2 triangles you know)

Kym fact - I rarely wash my face. Definitely not an end of day or beginning of day skin care face thing person.

some plurals I don't spell right: leafs, lifes,

I don't have a lot of committed organization of my time. Every day is different and I decide what it is. AKA no 9-5 or anything like it or regular.

I love a good double meaning, just like I love a double negative!

a theme of character: Kym has a tendency of disdain for certain words. ( I should make that list.)
(STARTING THAT LIST: vacation, deserve, hope, need)
defining and qualifying are usually why words end up on this list.

Sunrises are Mom. Sunsets are Dad.

true crime podcasts affect my outlook on life

disdain for vaguity. vague is not nice

I'm a horror to say anything to some times

Mismatched shoes is a me thing; it is not a mistake I walked out the door with.

Watching a dog run on the beach is one of the purest sights of happiness I know.

I was not a whiskey drinker. I don't know when I become a whiskey drinker. I have hated whiskey and all dark liquor all my life. Now I drink old fashioneds. Who have I become?

You will often find me "wrapping my head around that good thought"

vague. I don't like vague. don't be vague with me, I won't be vague with you. at least not on purpose.

defines WEIGHT as: the quality of the quantity of matter you are carrying

I like to antagonize common sayings and typical perspectives

Everything is a choice and authenticity is supreme.

Reflecting on my life whether it's looking back at the last month or doing a "this time last year" thing, shorter or longer time frames, doing this at all is a reflection of who I am. That I care to consider who I am, who I have been, what I have done, so that I may use all of that to inform what I do and who I am in the present and the future. That I reflect is a reflection of who I am.

running with turtles

I know, I'm a horror to say anything to some times..

when all my identities are umbrellas

I love a good double negative!

Plan in quotes because I'm so averse to "plans" and "goals".

I chunk out my days, to the minute, in Gcal.

I love to putter so if it becomes "I puttered my life away" so be it.

I'm not a cherry picker, of anything. I like to use things that exist rather than start from new or scratch.

I am an ostrich about politics, news, current events, pop culture and media.

I dislike clichés and most positive quotes, under thought things meant well, commonly said quotes and phrases.

Don't tell me what to do, don't ask me "how how are you?" or say "I'm sorry for your loss" unless you want to annoy me or you really, really mean it. And know it can be hard to tell which it is, and I'm wrong not infrequently.

30 Day Challenges are my thing. I have a tendency to make things every day things. This is where 30 Day Challenges come from!

Like yourself. Know yourself. Express that self.
Think about things. Don't feel like you have to dance in the rain to have a good life.
Don't have a plan. Stand for what matters. Read when you want to. Don't smile when people tell you to.
Don't have goal. Tend plants. Leave marks. Do what you say. Change YOUR world. And your mind!
Be a friend and a daughter and a partner and a sister and a dog mom.
In a world full of "accept who you are" messages, don't forget to be a "work on that" kind of person.
Don't put kindness above truth. Try new things. Be honest. Live by ideals. Have some whimsy.
What you do for money matters; strive to like what you do for money. (job)
If you have a hobby you need a life.
Use what attracts you and let what you care about matter!

Peepers are my favorite sound.

Triangles are my favorite shape.

54 is my number.

I never need to talk but thank you for offering to listen.

If you say I'm overthinking it, I'll probably say you are underthinkig it.

why I do what I do: I want to "make you" THINK. I don't mind if your experience and perception of me "makes you" be more mindful, use your brain more, "think too much" or consider something more carefully, or differently, or moves you to be (more) thoughtful or intentional or authentic.

I am a hugger and I mean my hugs.

I don't like to have scheduled things. The days where I have something scheduled are a certain category of feeling. I'm not very fond of pre sign ups, committing to things in advance externally. My favorite days are the ones I call "blank slate days". Nothing scheduled, nothing formally EXTERNALLY committed (I am full of internal commitment and ideas all the time, so no day is truly uncommitted).

use the moons

I love rules and I am a ruler follower.

I like a cup to fill.

So which is it Kym. Do you like wide open clean slate no commitment things?
Or you "need" want and thrive in containers, defined spaces, rules and limits?

Geez what a walking contradiction. A biggest when to which Witch!?

SOC life - what you allow in, turns into what you spend your time on. Can you see it?

Tomb raider hot is my favorite kind of girl hot, my favorite hot to be.

Resources

A link list for quick and easy clicking.

• Exhibit: the: "how do you decide what you do and don't express" doozy
• ​Kymology,com
• ​Substack​
• ​Kymology Youtube​
• what does it mean when Kym sends you a triangle (put a LINK here KG!)

Thank you for being here. Energy to you. 🔺
​
Ciao for now!

KG

Snail Mail I "love" snail mail. If want to send me snail mail or a prezzy "just because", you can always reach me here: PO Box 549 Harpers Ferry, WV 25425.

If you're subscribed to me on Substack too and get stuff twice or feel unclear about what's coming from where, me too! Thanks for sticking around! I'm still figuring it out.

You're receiving this email because at some point you signed up for Kymology stuff and or The Audience back in the day. If for any reason you don't want to be here anymore, you can unsubscribe by using the button below.