My Lady Jane

 

A Knight's Tale meets Princess Bride meets Pride & Prejudice meets Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Great meets Bridgerton.

A show that transmutes brutal history into fun herstory? I'm so in.

Crone On Fire

I have been recommending this book to literally everyone I know. It resonates with force. Or is that just because I am a menopause-adjacent mother, married to a cisgender man? 

Regardless, I love Catherine Newman. She is the greatest. Mos def a veritable

On Stage

1. Kansas City Chiefs

2. N3 in London

Travis Kelce and the Saunders brothers.

This Kid

 

Ben and I went to our first triathlon over the weekend. On the way there, we talked about how "winning" has a lot of different meanings-- going fastest is one; having fun, good sportsmanship, and trying your best is another. 

From the sidelines, it became obvious Ben was running, biking and swimming faster than anyone his age. He pushed himself hard. He cheered for his friend who came in last (but happy) in every leg of the race. He couldn't stop grinning.

We were in line for his free ice cream cone when results were announced. He came in second among six to eight year old boys. Ben was so surprised by the whole podium thing. He had no idea. Biking home he said, "That took every ounce of my training and practice, but I won in every way!"

Wow, kiddo. You sure did.

[Also Ben: "I don't remember saying that one bit."]

Chaos Gardening

may we be

worm turned soil

our yield a mystery

until seeds

(native/sown/volunteer)

sprout under the sun

-a marvel-

and we begin to see

the shape of things to come

Speech! Speech!

 

Graduation is a big deal.

Aging Well

 

Let's talk about my friend's parents... 

Last year, after significant time on the waitlist with a group of their longtime friends, they moved to Wake Robin which is a community in Vermont designed to support individual and collective vitality and health as members age.

While Wake Robin offers memory care, applicants have to pass cognitive screening exams before being welcomed into the community. Julia's parents studied and devised memory aids and ultimately both passed, but her mom gave her dad the tests again a month later and he failed them. They managed to get in just under the wire.

 

Julia and I only half joke that we need to start saving money and get on the waitlist while we still can. Her parents parlayed their privilege into a really solid plan for aging well. May we all find a way to marshal our resources and follow in their footsteps as we age, nosing out nourishing pathways that are unique to us. 

On a systemic level, we as a country suck at caring for each other. And when it comes to the last third of a person's life span, our nation makes it hard to age with dignity and connection. Maybe the Boomer generation will crash into existing structures and take them out, creating space for the establishment of better and more inclusive norms.