This is my first day as a 43-year-old. I had a wonderful birthday yesterday and am excited for this year ahead, career-wise and otherwise. Let’s get into the roundup:
Quote of the week:
“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?” –Oscar Wilde
What I’m reading:
I’m almost done with Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. It took me a while to get into it (which could be blamed on my hectic life), but I’m loving it now. Such wonderful writing and interesting characters. I always enjoy an epic family saga and this is that. The book comes out in March!
What I’m listening to:
I’m about halfway through Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours by Sarah Sentilles. It’s well-written and heartbreaking. I’m learning a lot about the foster care system.
What I’m watching:
I was watching The Watcher on Netflix, but sort of lost interest once I found out that the true story behind the series remains an unsolved mystery. I need closure!
Writing news:
Nothing of note this week, but there are some exciting things in the works.
What I’m talking about:
- The idiocy of Kanye West. I really avoided talking about this last week because I thought his antisemitic comments were so outlandish that nobody would take them seriously. But then I saw the signs on the 405 freeway and remembered that celebrities have so much influence. We cannot ignore hate like this. History has shown us why
- The whiplash of social media. On an episode of The Slowdown this week, Ada Limón talked about how strange it is that we can scroll Instagram and see happy news (like the birth of a friend’s baby) juxtaposed immediately by news of some atrocity. How confusing this must be for our weary brains!
- The importance of the upcoming midterm elections. PLEASE VOTE!
- Puppy potty training. We’ve taken in a puppy!
Interesting things I learned this week:
- The average colonial American white woman spent about 25 years pregnant and nursing babies
- In Paris in 1780, out of 21,000 children born, 20,000 were sent to wet nurses (so less than 5% of women breastfed their own babies)
- There’s a nationwide Adderall shortage that could last into 2023
- Only 1.8% of our congressional representatives are working moms
- In 1880, about half of Americans were farmers
- During peak growing cycle, giant pumpkins can increase in size by 60 pounds per day
- Historian James Mohr estimates that at the middle of the 19th century, 1 in 5 or 6 pregnancies was aborted (and this was considered normal “family planning”)
- In the US today, nearly 60% of pregnancies are unplanned
- Spiderman and Princess were the top 2 most popular kid costumes last year. For adults, witch and vampire top the list
- Last year, the most popular candy was M&Ms, with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the second spot
- 58% of women in prison are mothers
- According to a poll, 71% of Americans believe democracy is at risk
- Groups of vultures have different names depending on what they’re doing: when they are in flight, they’re a kettle; when they are at rest in a tree or on a fence post, that’s a committee; when they are feeding, that’s a wake
- In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was considered a “custom of the sea” for members of an endangered ship to draw straws to select someone to kill and eat for sustenance
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Are penguins mammals?” I really thought they were. But no.
What I’m grateful for:
- 42 trips around the sun, with a 43rd just starting. I’m happy and healthy, so I’ve won the lottery
- Lots of family time. We celebrated what would have been my dad’s 70th birthday this past week and then celebrated my birthday yesterday
- Halloween festivities. I love this time of year
Snapshots:
