Much of my life has been spent struggling with notions of place and home. And I’m still figuring it out. As a kid I knew something was off with my dysfunctional family. As a teenager I tried to create my own safe place which led to a lot of flailing and failing. At least they were life lessons I learned from. Everything shifted, yet again, with motherhood. I have been determined to extend a bubble of comfort and love around my son at all times. As he has gotten older I’ve attempted to balance that bubble with his need for independence, especially as someone who faces the unique challenges of autism. I’m proud he’s a decent, empathetic human. And a competent cook who does his own laundry, tackles other household chores and gets around via public transit. But he can’t/won’t learn everything from me. He’s at an age where some lessons are better delivered by neutral non-parental units. Just this week he went on a community field trip with his school program, to do comparison shopping at three area grocery stores. That ties into his consumer economics course next semester. I’m thrilled he has access to these resources (and wish they were available to more young people). It’s the holiday season which always makes me wistful. And our home is a cozy cheery nest, like it is every year, but it’s hard to say how many more years we’ll be living together like this as he is a young adult. Whatever happens I’ll continue to treasure our time together.
Five Good Things:
- Locally - Minneapolis Confronts Its History of Housing Segregation: By doing away with single-family zoning, the city takes on high rent, long commutes, and racism in real estate in one fell swoop.
- In Hawaii - I can’t stop giggling at this headline and photo and look forward to sharing it with my Dad. ‘Make better choices’: Endangered Hawaiian monk seals keep getting eels stuck up their noses and scientists want them to stop
- Globally - We Are Drowning in a Devolved World: An Open Letter from Devo
- On a wider scale - NASA Has Just Released 2,540 Stunning New Photos of Mars
- Near and dear to my heart - Hannah Gadsby meets Roxane Gay: ‘Trolls get incensed by a woman daring to think she’s funny. I’m very funny’
Another busy Saturday ahead of us but for now there’s a large cat draped over my shins, the Netflix fireplace on the TV, and our adorable Christmas tree nearby. If I take my glasses off and squint at it the lights have the best bokeh.
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