Six kids home for summer, a pilgrimage to France, a schooling decision on a deadline, and a Goodwill trip that produced an accidental gel bead gun. Sterling Jaquith walks through what's actually on her plate right now and shows the move that keeps her calm in the middle of it: stop trying to engineer a simple life, simplify your thinking instead.

WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why "just live simply" advice usually comes from people holding very different cards than you
• The Summer of Kindness experiment after one week (and why Peter prayed for it out loud)
• How to feel real frustration in your body without making it mean something has gone wrong
• The decisions and uncertainties Sterling is actively sitting with this June — including her own food struggle

EPISODE TIMELINE:

[00:00] – Why a "simple life" is the wrong goal for most moms [06:00] – The Goodwill trip, the gel bead gun, and weighing risk against sparkles [14:00] – Summer of Kindness update — what's working one week in [22:00] – France pilgrimage, French class, and Catholic Finishing School kickoff [30:00] – The schooling decision Sterling has to close the loop on [36:00] – Why her thinking is simple even when her life isn't

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Summer of Kindness - Family script
• Summer of Kindness Calendar - Template Link
• Calm Catholic Kids (Kindness stories coming June 10th): https://calmcatholickids.com
• Good Mom Summer at Catholic Mom Calm: https://catholicmomcalm.com
• France Pilgrimage (age opened up — reach out if interested): https://catholicmomcalm.com/france
• Summer French class for girls (coupon code: Calm50): https://canafeast.com/frenchclass
• Catholic Finishing School: www.catholicfinishingschool.com/
• Rack-O Jr. board game: https://amzn.to/4akdGQn
• Spirograph kit: https://amzn.to/43jNh1m
• Modest long-sleeve bathing suit dress: https://amzn.to/4dTVHCL
• The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher: https://amzn.to/43fIVbw

CONNECT WITH STERLING JAQUITH:

• Website: www.catholicmomcalm.com
• Follow on Instagram www.instagram.com/catholicmomcalm/