Learning from What Grows and Fades: Share 4 Somethings (March)

March is a living demonstration of flexible shifts—I wore shorts on a hot Sunday, then it snowed on Monday.

My One Word this year is Shift, and this month I’ve been focusing on the shifts that nature offers: things grow and things fade. Both are necessary for the rhythm to work.

Nothing stays the same forever, and everything that disappears opens up space for something new. (I even learned a new word this month for dead autumn leaves that hang on until they’re pushed off in spring.)

Each month I share favorite somethings from Jenn’s four categories.

I also share my previous month’s One Second Everyday video.

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1. Something I Loved

• LIVE MUSIC

In a month’s span, Jeff and I went to two new concerts featuring old music. It was a beautiful shift in time, being transported back to songs from my youth, yet experiencing them live in 2026.

The first concert was a variety of bands singing hits from the 1970s. The second was the Black Jacket Symphony’s Stayin’ Alive concert, a full Bee Gees experience (I loved Barry Gibb back in the day; he’s now 79 years old and the only surviving brother).

While music is meant to be experienced in the moment, it lingers on in the soul, even after the band stops playing.

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2. Something Sustaining Me

• BOOK CONVERSATIONS

Books sustain me every month, but this month I enjoyed extra companionship than normal through book clubs. Some met in person, others online. Some meet regularly; others more sporadically. One was for this month only. But they all aligned to happen in the same month this time, a rare and welcome intersection.

Here’s what I read for book clubs this month (and a few books are ongoing still):

• Out of Darkness
• Beyond the Politics of Contempt
• Beyond Belief (+ a one-on-one zoom conversation I won with the author, Nir Eyal; we talked for an hour about his new book!)
• Speak
• Women Who Run With the Wolves
• By Hands Now Known

Each book—and each book club group—brought a different kind of connection. New ideas, growing perspectives, and deep conversations.

Shifts may begin individually, but they can accelerate in community.

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3. Something Carrying Me Forward

• COLONOSCOPY (ugh!)

Forgive me if this is TMI, but I had yet another colonoscopy this month. I never look forward to them, but I give them credit for keeping me still here.

My first colonoscopy 17 years ago is when my doctor discovered colon cancer. Since then, I return every 1-3 years. They’re inconvenient in the moment, but they carry me forward a few more years. Even though colon cancer runs in my family (and in me), if it’s caught early, it’s usually very treatable.

A colonoscopy is a different kind of shift. It centers you into the immediacy of the day, but when you zoom out, you appreciate the benefit of years it provides.

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4. Something I’m Making Space For

• iPHONE STORAGE

Ready or not, I’ve been making space on my phone this past week.

The latest iOS update claimed my final 13 GB of storage (rude), leaving me with only a 1 GB margin. So I’ve been letting go of things I no longer need on my phone—deleting unused apps, erasing messages, clearing off duplicate photos. Because I need room for things yet to come.

But it’s still not enough. I may attempt a full phone reset later this week (send good thoughts!) to reduce iOS and System Data; it’s currently eating up 37 GB of storage.

Sometimes making space is trusting that even if important things are lost, they’ve already become part of who I am. And that won’t go away.

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March reminds me that nature doesn’t resist its own shifts. It lets things happen when they happen, not too soon and not too late. No apologies either way.

Growing up and letting go aren’t opposites—they are partners. That’s what I’m trying to accept, too: trust what is growing and gently release what is fading. Together, they make room for whatever is coming next.

A Question for You:

What new thing is growing in your life? Any old thing fading away?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

I’m linking at these blog parties

• ← Define It, Find Its Twin, Meet Its Opposite: 3 Ways to Revisit Your One Word
• On the Blog – March 2026 →