Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1\" \/>\n<style>\n :root{\n --ink:#2F2B27; \/* typewriter black *\/\n --paper:#FFFFFF; \/* page bg *\/\n --soft:#EFE8DC; \/* oatmeal cream *\/\n --terracotta:#CE9A84; \/* soft terracotta *\/\n --taupe:#BFB1A8; \/* taupe gray *\/\n --olive:#7E7566; \/* olive bark *\/\n }\n\n html, body { margin:0; padding:0; background:var(--paper); color:var(--ink); }\n body { font:16px\/1.7 system-ui,-apple-system,Segoe UI,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,\"Apple Color Emoji\",\"Segoe UI Emoji\"; }\n *, *::before, *::after { box-sizing: border-box; }\n\n .wrap { max-width:760px; margin:0 auto; padding:72px 24px; }\n\n h1{\n font-weight:700;\n font-size:clamp(28px,4.5vw,40px);\n line-height:1.15;\n margin:0 0 12px;\n letter-spacing:.2px;\n text-wrap:balance;\n }\n\n .tagline{\n font-style:italic;\n color:var(--olive);\n margin:0 0 32px;\n }\n\n p{ margin:18px 0; }\n em{ font-style:italic; }\n\n .divider{\n border:none;\n border-top:2px solid var(--taupe);\n opacity:.55;\n margin:46px auto 38px;\n max-width:96%;\n }\n\n .signoff{\n text-align:center;\n margin:44px 0 18px;\n line-height:1.45;\n font-size:18px;\n letter-spacing:.1px;\n }\n .signoff p{ margin:8px 0; }\n .signoff .name{\n display:block;\n font-weight:600;\n font-size:18px;\n margin:18px 0 0;\n }\n<\/style>\n<\/head>\n<body>\n <div class=\"wrap\">\n <h1>Day 24:<\/h1>\n\n Today was a good one.<\/p>\n\n My mom came into Dallas for an appointment, so we grabbed brunch and wandered through an antique mall afterward. I didn\u2019t buy a single thing\u2014and for me, that\u2019s a small miracle. (Somebody call Guinness, because that\u2019s record-breaking restraint.)<\/em> I was proud of myself, even if it was hard.<\/p>\n\n But honestly, the best part wasn\u2019t the restraint\u2014it was the company. I\u2019d missed my mom, and getting a whole day with her felt like such a gift. We laughed, we wandered, we dreamed up Halloween decor plans. It reminded me how much I value time with her\u2014not just as family, but as a person I truly enjoy being around.<\/p>\n\n And layered into that was something I didn\u2019t realize I\u2019d been missing: adult conversation in general. Leaving teaching means leaving behind that constant hum of connection\u2014coworkers to laugh with, to vent to, to just be<\/em> with. Time with my mom filled some of that gap today, and I think I appreciated it even more because of that.<\/p>\n\n I haven\u2019t mentioned this yet here or on socials, but I\u2019m in a new season. A quieter one.<\/p>\n\n This is the first fall I haven\u2019t gone back to teaching.<\/p>\n\n Last year was my final year in the classroom, and while I knew it was time, the shift has been\u2026 strange. I used to be around people all day\u2014coworkers, students, hallway chatter. Now it\u2019s mostly me, my thoughts, and my cats. (Who, to be fair, are much better coworkers. Terrible at staff meetings, though.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n I had a few freelance gigs lined up in the production world, but they haven\u2019t kicked in yet. So, I\u2019m here\u2014with more time than I\u2019m used to and a very real desire to make something out of it. If this blog, these reels, this strange little self-built life ever started bringing in what I made as a teacher? I\u2019d keep going. I\u2019d finish the book I started (about flarmahoogans, but we\u2019ll get into that another day).<\/p>\n\n Today felt like a reminder that I am<\/em> building something. Even if it doesn\u2019t always look like it.<\/p>\n\n My walk today was the antique mall. Turns out weaving between curio cabinets and velvet chairs counts as cardio. I hit my water goals. I picked up the girls, helped with school stuff, and made space for both chaos and calm.<\/p>\n\n And about that chaos\u2026<\/p>\n\n My house is currently overrun with Halloween decor and little black-and-orange piles that seem to multiply when I\u2019m not looking. I\u2019ve been trying to decorate for fall for about a week now, which mostly means things are halfway done. Nothing\u2019s quite finished, but nothing\u2019s untouched either. Pinterest would call it seasonal styling in progress. I call it: orange chaos corner.<\/p>\n\n There are corners mid-makeover. Trash that needs to be taken out. Ideas in progress, all stacked in quiet little reminders that I can\u2019t do it all at once.<\/p>\n\n But I\u2019ve realized: building something takes up space.<\/strong> \n Not just in your mind or your schedule\u2014but in your home. In the places that usually signal order or ease. And right now, my house is carrying the weight of that tradeoff. My house didn\u2019t exactly volunteer to be collateral damage, but here we are.<\/p>\n\n Because when I choose to pour energy into a reel or a blog post or a big dream, something else usually waits. Lately, it’s the piles. The floors. The tidying that\u2019ll get done tomorrow\u2026 maybe.<\/p>\n\n I can\u2019t do it all. \n But I can keep showing up. \n And I can keep building the life I want\u2014day by day, pile by pile. And occasionally, pumpkin by pumpkin.<\/p>\n\n \n <hr style=\"border: none; border-top: 2px solid var(--taupe); margin: 40px 0;\">\n\n <div class=\"signoff\">\n See you tomorrow. \n (Unless I delete the internet and move into the woods.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u2014Jenli<\/p>\n\n <div style=\"background:var(--soft); padding:16px 20px; margin:24px auto 0; max-width:480px; border-left:6px solid var(--terracotta);\">\n Day 24 of The Main Character Experiment \n \u201cTrying to become the main character without tripping over my own pumpkin piles.\u201d<\/em>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/body>\n<\/html>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic Day 24: Today was a good one. My mom came into Dallas for an appointment, so we grabbed brunch and wandered through an antique mall afterward. I didn\u2019t buy a single thing\u2014and for me, that\u2019s a small miracle. (Somebody call Guinness, because that\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic - Jenli Kaylor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jenlikaylor.com\/wp\/day-24-black-cats-blank-slates-and-a-brunch-kind-of-magic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic - Jenli Kaylor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic Day 24: Today was a good one. My mom came into Dallas for an appointment, so we grabbed brunch and wandered through an antique mall afterward. I didn\u2019t buy a single thing\u2014and for me, that\u2019s a small miracle. 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{"id":212,"date":"2025-09-07T23:07:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T23:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jenlikaylor.com\/wp\/?p=212"},"modified":"2025-09-07T23:07:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T23:07:25","slug":"day-24-black-cats-blank-slates-and-a-brunch-kind-of-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jenlikaylor.com\/wp\/day-24-black-cats-blank-slates-and-a-brunch-kind-of-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\nDay 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1\" \/>\n<style>\n :root{\n --ink:#2F2B27; \/* typewriter black *\/\n --paper:#FFFFFF; \/* page bg *\/\n --soft:#EFE8DC; \/* oatmeal cream *\/\n --terracotta:#CE9A84; \/* soft terracotta *\/\n --taupe:#BFB1A8; \/* taupe gray *\/\n --olive:#7E7566; \/* olive bark *\/\n }\n\n html, body { margin:0; padding:0; background:var(--paper); color:var(--ink); }\n body { font:16px\/1.7 system-ui,-apple-system,Segoe UI,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,\"Apple Color Emoji\",\"Segoe UI Emoji\"; }\n *, *::before, *::after { box-sizing: border-box; }\n\n .wrap { max-width:760px; margin:0 auto; padding:72px 24px; }\n\n h1{\n font-weight:700;\n font-size:clamp(28px,4.5vw,40px);\n line-height:1.15;\n margin:0 0 12px;\n letter-spacing:.2px;\n text-wrap:balance;\n }\n\n .tagline{\n font-style:italic;\n color:var(--olive);\n margin:0 0 32px;\n }\n\n p{ margin:18px 0; }\n em{ font-style:italic; }\n\n .divider{\n border:none;\n border-top:2px solid var(--taupe);\n opacity:.55;\n margin:46px auto 38px;\n max-width:96%;\n }\n\n .signoff{\n text-align:center;\n margin:44px 0 18px;\n line-height:1.45;\n font-size:18px;\n letter-spacing:.1px;\n }\n .signoff p{ margin:8px 0; }\n .signoff .name{\n display:block;\n font-weight:600;\n font-size:18px;\n margin:18px 0 0;\n }\n<\/style>\n<\/head>\n<body>\n <div class=\"wrap\">\n <h1>Day 24:<\/h1>\n\n Today was a good one.<\/p>\n\n My mom came into Dallas for an appointment, so we grabbed brunch and wandered through an antique mall afterward. I didn\u2019t buy a single thing\u2014and for me, that\u2019s a small miracle. (Somebody call Guinness, because that\u2019s record-breaking restraint.)<\/em> I was proud of myself, even if it was hard.<\/p>\n\n But honestly, the best part wasn\u2019t the restraint\u2014it was the company. I\u2019d missed my mom, and getting a whole day with her felt like such a gift. We laughed, we wandered, we dreamed up Halloween decor plans. It reminded me how much I value time with her\u2014not just as family, but as a person I truly enjoy being around.<\/p>\n\n And layered into that was something I didn\u2019t realize I\u2019d been missing: adult conversation in general. Leaving teaching means leaving behind that constant hum of connection\u2014coworkers to laugh with, to vent to, to just be<\/em> with. Time with my mom filled some of that gap today, and I think I appreciated it even more because of that.<\/p>\n\n I haven\u2019t mentioned this yet here or on socials, but I\u2019m in a new season. A quieter one.<\/p>\n\n This is the first fall I haven\u2019t gone back to teaching.<\/p>\n\n Last year was my final year in the classroom, and while I knew it was time, the shift has been\u2026 strange. I used to be around people all day\u2014coworkers, students, hallway chatter. Now it\u2019s mostly me, my thoughts, and my cats. (Who, to be fair, are much better coworkers. Terrible at staff meetings, though.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n I had a few freelance gigs lined up in the production world, but they haven\u2019t kicked in yet. So, I\u2019m here\u2014with more time than I\u2019m used to and a very real desire to make something out of it. If this blog, these reels, this strange little self-built life ever started bringing in what I made as a teacher? I\u2019d keep going. I\u2019d finish the book I started (about flarmahoogans, but we\u2019ll get into that another day).<\/p>\n\n Today felt like a reminder that I am<\/em> building something. Even if it doesn\u2019t always look like it.<\/p>\n\n My walk today was the antique mall. Turns out weaving between curio cabinets and velvet chairs counts as cardio. I hit my water goals. I picked up the girls, helped with school stuff, and made space for both chaos and calm.<\/p>\n\n And about that chaos\u2026<\/p>\n\n My house is currently overrun with Halloween decor and little black-and-orange piles that seem to multiply when I\u2019m not looking. I\u2019ve been trying to decorate for fall for about a week now, which mostly means things are halfway done. Nothing\u2019s quite finished, but nothing\u2019s untouched either. Pinterest would call it seasonal styling in progress. I call it: orange chaos corner.<\/p>\n\n There are corners mid-makeover. Trash that needs to be taken out. Ideas in progress, all stacked in quiet little reminders that I can\u2019t do it all at once.<\/p>\n\n But I\u2019ve realized: building something takes up space.<\/strong> \n Not just in your mind or your schedule\u2014but in your home. In the places that usually signal order or ease. And right now, my house is carrying the weight of that tradeoff. My house didn\u2019t exactly volunteer to be collateral damage, but here we are.<\/p>\n\n Because when I choose to pour energy into a reel or a blog post or a big dream, something else usually waits. Lately, it’s the piles. The floors. The tidying that\u2019ll get done tomorrow\u2026 maybe.<\/p>\n\n I can\u2019t do it all. \n But I can keep showing up. \n And I can keep building the life I want\u2014day by day, pile by pile. And occasionally, pumpkin by pumpkin.<\/p>\n\n \n <hr style=\"border: none; border-top: 2px solid var(--taupe); margin: 40px 0;\">\n\n <div class=\"signoff\">\n See you tomorrow. \n (Unless I delete the internet and move into the woods.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u2014Jenli<\/p>\n\n <div style=\"background:var(--soft); padding:16px 20px; margin:24px auto 0; max-width:480px; border-left:6px solid var(--terracotta);\">\n Day 24 of The Main Character Experiment \n \u201cTrying to become the main character without tripping over my own pumpkin piles.\u201d<\/em>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/body>\n<\/html>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic Day 24: Today was a good one. My mom came into Dallas for an appointment, so we grabbed brunch and wandered through an antique mall afterward. I didn\u2019t buy a single thing\u2014and for me, that\u2019s a small miracle. (Somebody call Guinness, because that\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic - Jenli Kaylor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jenlikaylor.com\/wp\/day-24-black-cats-blank-slates-and-a-brunch-kind-of-magic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic - Jenli Kaylor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Day 24: Black Cats, Blank Slates, and a Brunch Kind of Magic Day 24: Today was a good one. 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