A Substack Summer Break

Some thoughts on rest, meaning and creativity before taking most of the summer off from Substack

Jun 30, 2026

My best and worst trait is that I seek meaning everywhere. Everything is a sign, a lesson, a bread crumb trail toward a deeper understanding of life and all its many complexities. After 36 years, I realize this makes me: a good but scattered friend to have, a sometimes difficult person to be married to, a halfway decent writer and a restless, but attuned human being.

I have felt this pull toward meaning a lot as of late. Maybe it’s motherhood. (After all, isn’t it always motherhood?) Maybe it’s because summer sun slits through the blinds at 5:38AM and the day demands that I get up and make something of myself. Maybe it’s because raising toddlers takes everything from you and then somehow, miraculously, offers it back to you sticky, snotty and better than you could have ever imagined. Maybe it’s because the direction of my career feels like mud these days, as unclear and soggy as it’s ever been. Maybe it’s because I never got my brain back after giving birth, but I instead got a new brain, one with a million daises and fresh ideas bursting out from my cerebrum. Maybe it’s because I’m closer to 40 than I am to 30, and life is asking new and different things of me that I am unsure how to answer.

Whatever the case, I am in the thick of meaning-making, which also means I am in the thick of creative exploration. More specifically, I’m co-developing a podcast and I am halfway through a 10-week fiction writing course. These things are each amazing in their own right, and yet, I have recently realized my brain has one too many tabs open.

I was first in denial about this. My common internal refrain for the past year and a half has been, “I gave birth vaginally and via c-section on the same night, I can do anything.” But just because you can doesn’t mean you should, and that’s a lesson I have had to learn the hard way many times over.

Once I’d moved past my denial, I took stock of all of the creative projects swirling in my orbit and realized the one place I could really afford to rest for the time being is here on Substack. I’d like to think that’s the beauty of Substack—consistency matters, but community will always be there. Spring was beautiful and busy, with my first podcast interview, a lot of essays and the summer reading list to end all summer reading lists. This little Substack tree of mine has borne some tasty fruit, and it feels like a good time to take a breather.

Throughout July and most of August, I won’t be writing here. I’ll be dipping in and out to say hey, to comment when the mood strikes, to save everyone’s lovely essays for a time when my brain can more fully contain them. Instead, I’ll be writing elsewhere, off dreaming up imaginary worlds in short stories where I can say a lot of things I don’t always get to say in personal essays, things I want to say about marriage, identity, race and the messy middle of life. I’ll be developing a yet-to-be-named podcast with one of my closest friends about hefty, hard-to-pin-down motherhood topics. But perhaps most importantly, I’ll be having a lovely time with my two kiddos, immersed in a sea of storytimes/splash pads/grandparent visits/indoor playgrounds/outdoor adventures/play dates. I will be doing my best (no promises) to close just a few tabs in my unquiet brain so that I might make space for these delicious and creative dog days of summer.

Xoxo,
Tyece

Before I go, I’ll leave you with a few of my personal faves, things I’ve written that may be worth reading or revisiting while I’m away. Until August, friends.