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We are taught to not give in to peer pressure. “If your friends INSERT ACTION, would you?”

Directly on the heels of the earworm “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” let’s dive into the word worm that is Wordle. (Seriously? OK, if this isn’t already running through your head all day, every day, they you may have missed a viewing of the new Disney film Encanto. With eight original songs by award winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, here is the link to the tune that I am sure you are going to thank me for planting in your head).

I learn a lot from my Facebook feed. I don’t have a favorite sports team that I follow, so how to know who is playing in the Super Bowl? Well, I read my feed last Monday morning and learned the Bengals were one team. The other one was from Los Angeles (quick shout out to Scott, I know it’s the Rams now).

So, when the flood of yellow and green cubes started filling my recent newsfeed, I clearly knew that something was up. But I just couldn’t or wouldn’t let myself get sucked into another thing. I had no idea what it was, just that the people in my Facebook circle were doing it every day. I will admit that it started to pique my curiosity when photos started creeping into the feed. Including…the Wordle Girdle.

Fast forward to my daily meandering of YouTube, when what should I see but a suggestion that I check out Jimmy Fallon trying to play Wordle. This seemed to me to be the least invasive way for me to learn what the heck it was all about.

Guess a five-letter word. That’s it? Hmmmmm…

Well, now I’m sucked in just like everyone else. (OK, only 92.7% of the people I know post about it. There are some with a stronger disposition). And now the obsession has been purchased by the New York Times. Created by Josh Wardle and reportedly sold for a low seven-figure number, the game was created in October 2021, had 90 users on November 1, 2021, and now is played by millions daily. Now those are some numbers we all crave in our outcomes.

What will become of our daily, shareable brain teaser? Initial reports look like everything will remain the same (aka free) for the time being. But getting this fun letter game behind the NYT subscription firewall is where it will most likely end up. So, enjoy it while you can.

Wordle has been a lesson in going from the joy of missing out (JOMO) to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Personally, I find it to be just good, clean fun, as well as mentally stimulating. And we all know, as we age, mental stimulation helps keep our minds beefy. (Tornow – 2; Kober – 1)

It’s the end of another calendar year, which means it’s time for all of those “Best of 2021” lists to fill your social media feeds. So as not to miss the party, I figured it would be a good time to provide some backstory into my favorite educational pieces we’ve developed in the past 12 months.

1. Rheumatology Nurse Practice (Volume 6, Issue 2) – For the last several years, we’ve been including patient essays as part of each issue of this CE-certified publication, but this one by Callie Krakauskas that starts on page 21 is one of my favorites. I first met Callie when I interviewed her as part of our “Dear Diary…” educational series that also launched in 2021. As we talked, she started telling me about this concept called “The Spoon Theory” that she had embraced to help explain to family and friends how her autoimmune disease impacted her energy levels on a day-to-day basis. It wasn’t something that fit into the patient animations that we developed for the Dear Diary programs, but I tucked it away as something to come back to later. When we had an opening for a patient essay this fall, I asked Callie if she’d want to educate our audience of rheumatology nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants on the nuts and bolts of “The Spoon Theory” and how they might be able to utilize it for their patients. The feedback that we got so far has been tremendous.

2. Impact of Atopic Dermatitis on Patient Quality of Life and Psychosocial Development – Through this activity (part of a larger series of online clinician/patient broadcasts that we recorded and packaged), we got to hear the story of Samantha Bittner. This was admittedly a tough one. Sam is currently a college student who has gone through some heartbreaking challenges due to her disease. It’s basically stripped away so much of her childhood, forcing her into some really deep holes that she has miraculously emerged from. You might be able to sense the emotion from our interviewing faculty as Sam is talking about her past and current challenges, but those of us off-camera during this recording were virtually in tears hearing Sam tell us about the ways in which her disease has affected her. How she maintains motivation to push forward and experience life is quite inspiring.

3. Dear Diary… The Clinical Evidence: Addressing Hurdles to Care – On a cheerier note, I’ve known Carrie Beach (currently the president of the Rheumatology Nurses Society) for approximately 6 years. It was only recently that she told me that she cried after our first in-person meeting because she thought she had done so poorly on the broadcast we had recorded. Look, not all of our faculty are natural presenters, especially those without much experience in front of a camera. It can absolutely be a lot of pressure! But Carrie is a great example of a faculty member who wiped away those tears and kept trying. She’s the lead presenter on this activity. Also, this is part of one of my favorite branded initiatives that’ll we be expanding in 2022 – super excited about this.

4. The Blooper Reel – There are always going to be moments that make us roll our eyes and cringe. My favorite moment (well, at least in retrospect) came when one of our internationally renowned faculty ignored our instructions to hit the “record” button on the webcam she had been sent at the start of a broadcast. It was only when we were wrapping up by telling our team (there were two other faculty who were part of the program) to hit the same button to end the recording that she said, “Oh, was this supposed to be blinking red the whole time?” Needless to say, we had to reschedule the whole recording for another date/time 3 weeks in the future. I’m not even sure if we got an apology.

Happy New Year everyone. Here’s to a another great/good/tolerable/oh-my-God-when-will-this-end year.

The stores are full of crayons and backpacks. School schedules have been released, and the kids are all complaining about the time slots they have been assigned for lunch. As camps wind down and back to school shopping continues, let me share some of my amazing joys from the Summer of 2021.

#1 Getting Balanced

Getting my balance back. Many of us have more than one side to our personality and interests. What do CME and yoga have in common? One commonality is Alexandra Howson. When she isn’t dazzling you with her voice (which you can hear more of in the Write Medicine podcast), she is practicing yoga. I started the summer with her virtual rebalance class. Once a week, we would assemble on camera and listed to Alex’s amazing voice as she guided the class through a body zone.

I’m thrilled for the fall to get here, because I’m awaiting the return of Alex’s Breathing Space. Twice a week, you get to set aside 15 minutes on your calendar to block out the world and take a breath. Well, maybe more than one. Check out all the possibilities at Moon Valley Yoga.

#2 “I had a farm in Africa”

Okay, not really, but I did rewatch Out of Africa, starring the amazing and incomparable Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. It remains as good, if not better, than I remembered. The music will always give me ‘goosies’ (Scott, that is J-Lo’s way of saying she had goose bumps from a routine on World of Dance.)

Getting back to farms, I did get to stay in a guest house on a farm. #vermontbandb Thanks to the amazing attention to detail from the owners, Carin and Luke, their 3-bedroom guest house hosted my family for a week of relaxation. For those of you unfamiliar with the word “relaxation” due to lack of knowledge or experience, it is defined as “the state of being free from tension and anxiety.” In the mornings, I debated whether I should take my cup of tea and sit on the front porch, overlooking the Vermont mountains and the sheep (yes, real live sheep), or sojourn to the sunroom and watch the hummingbirds travel from flower to flower (they really are insect helicopters, and it’s fascinating to just watch them maneuver). Most mornings, the front porch won. Here, you can see why for yourself.

#3 Salt Between My Toes

Beaches, are you still out there? We have practically reached Labor Day, and I realized that I have not been to the beach. No sand between the toes. But I did have my first foray into salt cave therapy rooms, courtesy of Salt of the Earth Center for Healing. Chill in a gravity chair and sink your toes into the coarse ground salt while breathing in the salt-infused air. There is something to be said for quiet time. Get some for yourself.

#4 Pages and Pages of Books

I’ve rebooted using the Good Reads app to track what I am reading. I got the app a few years back and recently remembered it was still on my phone (I really should see what else I have taking up space on there.) Good Reads is a great way to keep a list of books you ‘Want to Read’ or see where you left off in a book you are currently reading. I completed several books this summer, for which I am very proud of myself. Others are in the works and the list of ‘to read’ just keeps growing.

Completed

• Thanks to the recommendation from another industry colleague, Allison Kickel, I completed Untamed by Glennon Doyle. If you are a woman, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a partner, or a soul looking to learn from another human being who is juggling life, add this to your list.

• Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. If you have not watched the Netflix adaptation of the series, please know that this is the fourth book in the series and reveals the answer to one of the lingering mysteries. Netflix launched Season 1 in December 2020, and Bridgerton has been nominated for 12 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. While COVID-19 has slowed filming production around the world, fans are hoping for the release of Season 2 at the end of 2021.

Currently in Progress

• Between Grit and Grace by Sasha K. Shillcutt, MD, MS, FASE. After getting the chance to hear Dr. Shillcutt present as part of the CME Live, I used my conference points to score a copy of her book. I am enjoying my consumption of her bright and introspective voice.

• Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson follows several high school students through a transformative year where they listen more to their internal voices and find ways to take action. Which don’t always work out the way they hope. I’m waiting to see how it all plays out.

I hope my list inspires you to take some time for yourself before the sands of summertime run out. If the weather stays as warm as it has this week, summer may be around longer than we had planned. And have no fear, the fall has just as many delights waiting in store for you!