Paradox of Tolerance

 

I have a whole writing somewhere on Tolerance. And I can't find it right now, but I am posting this here so as to never lose it, because it's important.

Trump. Again.

Trump. Again. So we've all got the news this morning, and I'm pretty sure everyone I care anything about is cycling between depressed, raging, afraid, disgusted, worried, and resigned. I just can't believe any kind of reasonable people can make this decision. I want to lash out, but where? There's not a reasonable target to do so - some of my friends are renting a rage room this evening, though. 

Mismatched Socks

 

I wear mismatched socks. On purpose.

Because of health reasons, I wear compression socks all the time. And they come in packs of like 6 pair in various colors, and half are grey. So when I do laundry, I dump all the socks into one pile, I don't match them, and I pull out one color and one grey to wear each day. So my socks are always deliberately mismatched.

Favorite Books to Read Again

A few years back, I made a list of books I have reread the most times and would recommend. Here's what I came up with, and I may add a few.

Cuckoo's Egg - I've gone through at least four copies of this book since I was a pre-teen. I love this world and a lot of the philosophical discussions that are awoken by the situations in the book. https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoos-Egg-Alliance-Union-Universe-Cherryh/dp/0886770831

Xanth (series) - started reading these with my sister when we were young, and just... love over and over. Magic, bad puns, puzzles, and friendship. I have been made aware in recent years of some really problematic misogynism therein, and I've been afraid to go back and read with that lens - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MK2PJSR

Dresden Files (series) - Saving The Universe, One Random Act of Destruction at a Time. The best wizard named Harry. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CF4JMZ

Tales of Alvin Maker (series) - Seventh Son is another I've gone through multiple copies of. Alternate history where cottage magic works. The first several are great, but they weaken as the series progresses (much like Ender's Game by the same author) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0841YCLH8

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol - if you've never read the book, do - there is so much richness there that can't be shown on stage. If possible, I recommend the reproduction of the first edition little red book with the original illustrations. - https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Carol-silkbound-Arcturus-Classics/dp/1398814199

Men Are Like Waffles Women Are Like Spaghetti - I will rarely read, let alone recommend, a self-help/relationship book. But this one made a lot of ideas 'click' in my head. Just understand that you have to replace 'men' and 'women' with 'some people' - https://www.amazon.com/Men-Like-Waffles-Women-Spaghetti-Understanding/dp/0736968881

The Chronicles of Narnia (Narnia series) - as a child, fine fantasy. As an adult I re-read and saw a lot of Christian mythology. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QQKTGI

Rogue Warrior (series) - A guilty pleasure (and Rubi's choice) -you can tell when I've been reading these because my language devolves. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087DZVNCL

Dragon Prince (series) - Detailed regal-dynasty fiction with dragons. I learned a lot of lessons on how to manage people in here, too. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CF7K6D

Kushiel's Legacy (series) - Great world-building with a kinky twist. There's three trilogies, and I recommend them highly at the beginning, with love for them decreasing with each one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CGQ95W

I Wake Up On Mondays

I wake up on Mondays making lists in my head, hit the ground running. 

Conversations to follow up on, things to research, tasks to handle. 

Unpacking from whatever I did over the weekend, prepping for the one coming. 

People to remind to do things for me, thank them for things they did, check on how they are doing. 

IDEAS. Information I want to share, things I want to start working on. 

The work week begins the same way; reports, check-ins, and stand-ups. 

Planning everything. Too many things on the to-do list.

But somehow by the end of the day, if it's not all crossed off, it's less frantic and it's in some sort of priority order. 

Things got done, plans have been made, and the week is rolling and ready.

Unbecoming Everything I Wasn't Meant To Be

I was born with this body. I don't love it, but it's the one I have. But this body isn't me.

This body is fat. I enjoy food, and I'm not interested in giving up my pleasure to be thinner.

This body hurts all the time. I'm a bad-ass bitch who takes that pain and laughs at it.

This body is soft and weak. I will take it to the limits of what it can handle.

This body is curvy and feminine. I reject that label as an identity.

Children are Hard

 

Every stage is the hardest, especially with your first, and you've never done it before.

- Babies are so helpless and dependent on you 28 hours a day and what if you mess up?

- Toddlers are willful and 'no' and don't listen and can barely communicate and have so much energy. How can you possibly keep up?

- School-age kids are learning so much and exposed to the world and all it's heartbreak and depth of possibilities. How do you protect and support them?

- Preteens are so busy with themselves and their circle and activities and so many things. How do you guide them in the right direction?

- Teens are changing so fast and so sure they don't need you and they know everything. How can you stay important in their lives?

- Young adults are going out on their own and have to do it themselves and learning how to manage it themselves and you can't do it for them. How can you help but still encourage their independence?

- And then they aren't dependent on you, and you don't need to keep up, and they can protect themselves, and they've got their own direction, and they decide what's important, and they are independent. And they become your friend instead of your child, and everything else was completely worth it.