10 things I learned in June

Every month, Emily Freeman writes a post about things she’s learned lately. Pretty much anything is up for grabs: mindless celebrity connections, introspective musings, favorite new products, iPhone tricks.

This month Emily is hosting a “Things I Learned in June” linkup. I knew I had to play along when I pulled my maxi skirt out of my suitcase in Chicago and realized I couldn’t even wear it because I’d dried it wrong. Yes, that’s possible, and even though laundry tips about maxi skirts veer closer to “mindless celebrity connections” than “introspective musings,” I needed share it with you.

So here are 10 things I learned in June, in no particular order.

1. Be careful when drip drying maxis or you’ll make your own unwearable. After I hand washed my Stitch Fix maxi skirt, I clipped it on a skirt hanger and hung it in my shower. It turns out this is a big no-no: the weight of the draining water stretched out the skirt by a good six inches–but only on one side.

the skirt, before I ruined it and restored it

When I got dressed a week later in Chicago, I found out the skirt was unwearable: not only did it look ridiculous, but I couldn’t walk without stepping on the extra length I’d created on one side. Moral of the story: lay flat to dry. (Washing and drying it again restored it to wearable condition.)

2. When your husband, your regular babysitter, your other regular babysitter, and your back-up babysitters all leave town at the same time, it’s bad news. Especially when you’re an HSP.

3. The secret to non-tragic American Girl doll hair is to wet it before brushing. The Chicago store’s bathroom is adjacent to the doll hair salon, which we visited at least 3 times, so I picked up a few tips. (Also learned: a doll hair salon is a pretty surreal place.)

4. Always bring a sweater. (Apparently not all of us magically learn this by virtue of becoming an adult.) I accidentally left my cozy sweater behind when we left for Michigan, because it was sweltering at 7am in Louisville. Big mistake. Many thanks to Leanne who saved the week with an old hoodie. Now I need to remember to follow my own advice so I don’t freeze to death in the local coffee shops while it’s 95 degrees outside.

5. You can dictate punctuation on your iPhone. I had no idea. My kids are a little obsessed with Siri–and with texting their grandma–and my 8-year-old figured this out. This discovery makes it much easier to dictate texts at (ahem) stoplights.

6. Think very, very carefully before you (teasingly) offer your child a sip of your (decaf) cappucino. Because he may say yes. And then he may want his own. Every day.

7. “Hope is a function of struggle.” I’ve long believed this concept, but never heard it so eloquently expressed until I listened to this interview with Brené Brown.