For 14 years now (basically, since I started writing online with any earnestness) I’ve taken a decent chunk of summertime off the internet. This summer, however, I’m doing something different, and it’s considerably more drastic—I’m taking the entire summer off the entire
I don’t miss our culture’s weird expectation to be hyperscheduled and busily everywhere, involving our kids in every possible activity. So it’s strange to me how everyone from extracurriculars to church groups to schools are trying to replicate this busyness via Zoom meetings.
Student, with LITERALLY* ONE minute left in class via Zoom: “So Augustine here is saying God doesn’t create sin but still allows it. Where, then, does sin come from, and what does it say about God’s character to allow it if he has the omnipotence to not allow it?”
*literally
I just discovered that my 10-year-old ends all his Zoom classes — in homage to both James Acaster and I suppose memento mori — by saying to his teacher and peers, "Death comes to us all." 💀
#Homeschooling
isn’t perfect, but when your 13yo son reads Tom Sawyer up in the tree, writes a paragraph in cursive on the Nat Turner Rebellion, starts a fire w a battery + pencil & can explain why, & later has a friend over to sharpen their axes, it feels kinda as it should be.
We've been renovating our old house for almost 3 years now, & this past month Kyle refinished our old, cast-iron bathtub. This has, surprisingly, left a hole exposed to the ground underneath.
Which is why, at 10pm last week in the bathroom, a possum was greeting our daughter.
@hankgreen
Reminds me of the small locally-owned Chinese restaurant here in our town in a nondescript strip center with the URL "chineserestaurant . com" — until they accidentally let it expire.
8-yr-old: Mom, what year were you born?
Me: 1977
8: Wow, that means you were alive in 1995.
Me: Um, yeah. I was starting college. Why?
8: Triwizard tournament was that year. You could have gone if you knew about it.
⚡️⚡️⚡️
I’m sure this is simplistic, but I can’t help but think the whole supply chain disruption + upcoming holidays collision is an opportunity for us to collectively:
1. Prioritize local vendors & makers
2. Give events over things
3. Give homemade
4. Give fewer gifts altogether
When all this is over I still want the late-night talk show hosts to do low-res videos from their homes, Patrick Stewart to still read Shakespearean sonnets, DJs to still host virtual global dance parties from their kitchens, authors to still read their books from their couches.
Finally showed the teens A Hidden Life.
…I remembered how beautiful is was, but still — it really is SUCH a beautiful movie. Beautifully shot, beautiful music, beautiful true story. The sound alone tells a story. Add it to your watch list if you haven’t yet seen it.
My 12-yr-old austistic son, listening to Ask Science Mike with me when Mike casually mentions he plays D&D: “What?! Yet another way that guy makes me feel less weird.” 💛
@mikemchargue
Prayers, if you don't mind, for my grandma who's just been put on hospice and has been given hours/days/weeks. She’s 95 and it’s expected, but it's still never easy. 💛
"You know, it turns out this summer is pretty boring. But I don't have to worry about college or taxes or anything on top of the boredom, so I've decided I'm just going to enjoy my childhood instead." - my 12-yr-old son, who understands the gist of being a kid in a pandemic
So, a bit of news. My new book, Shadow & Light, comes out in TEN DAYS! 🤯
I haven't talked about it too much because it's about Advent, & who talks about Advent in late-summer? But I'm mad in love with it, & think you will be too. Here's more:
childhood injuries:
1. fell off bike
2. fell out of tree
3. skinned knee from playing hard
adulthood injuries:
1. slept weird
2. sat down too long
3. didn’t wear good shoes
@jimmyfallon
We were moving far away & my grandma thought she'd never see us again this side of heaven. She hugged me and said, "See you in the Big House."
I didn't have the heart to tell her that was slang for prison, not heaven.
#nanaquotes
I had a good idea that needed a domain name, so I looked it up to see if it was taken. It was. Drat. I logged into my domain-buying account to see about alternatives. I did a quick search.
Reader, it was me that owned the original domain name. I already bought it last year.
🧵 I was asked for a list of good films to watch with teens. I'd personally rather watch films with unshared morals (to a limit) than "clean" yet banal movies that cheapen what it means to tell a good story. Please keep that in mind; your mileage may vary.
👇 My list:
A local artist friend of mine spray painted this under an Austin overpass yesterday. Looks like it'll inevitably come down soon, but in the meantime...
One of my high school students is currently making bumper stickers that say "The Lord yeeteth and the Lord yoinketh away," and it just can't get more gen-z than that.
A day in the life of parenting a literal kid: I asked him to wash a load of towels. He didn’t know I meant dirty towels. So, he tossed the clean, folded towels on the shelves into the machine & pressed start.
I forgot to add the crucial adjective "dirty." Bless him. 💛
Me: Literally wrote a book about
#Advent
and how it’s a distinctive, separate holiday from the 12 days of Christmas which go from December 25 to January 5.
Also me: Yes it’s November 22 but see it’s also 2020 and we all know what that means.
Me, Dec 25: Everything in the house is so festive & cozy!
Me, Dec 26: Okay, except for our mattresses, a bit of food, books, & about 3 days’ worth of clothes, I want everything in the house GONE.
That felt more like a celebration of a whole lot of ordinary Americans than of just a few at the top. I know it was cheesy, but I liked it. We needed it.
Interesting to see so many family friends getting all dressed up in color-coordinating Easter outfits on Instagram whereas for me, avoiding that bit is one of the decent benefits about all this staying home business.
Husband went to the grocery store & the person in front of him at the checkout said, "Here you can have our spot; this cashier is Asian." 🤯
He's now going to an Asian market to give them business for the rest of the stuff he couldn't find.
My inbox is full of meeting invitations, and I get that some people may like this, but my kids are DONE with Zoom after a week of online classes. They don’t want more. Thanks for the invite, but we’ll be in the backyard.
I'm (finally) turning the tiny vintage trailer in our backyard into my writing cabin, & let's just say I've already ordered folk art prints of Chesterton & Flannery to serve as my writing patrons, and I'm torn on which citrus-themed wallpaper is best. (I love them ALL.)
Every time I teach my high school literature class, I think of how much we miss if we stop reading the classics once we finish school. I’ve grown to love these great books SO MUCH MORE as an adult. Give one a try if it’s been awhile for you — you might surprise yourself.
"White evangelicals are now more tolerant of immoral behavior by elected officials than the average American."
This is not OK.
This is a plethora of light years away from OK.
As a moderate
#ILeftTheGOP
around 2010 or so, when I started thinking for myself and realized being a Christian and being a Republican were not synonymous. (And in fact, voting otherwise often aligned even more with my Christian values.)
My 12-yr-old son has decided that his wedding cake will be in the shape of Minas Tirith. And of course his wife will want the same, because after all, why else would they be marrying each other?
Just walked home from a monthly neighborhood potluck, where people early 20s to 80s all gather just to eat & hang out. The only common thread is we live near each other. Been going on for 3-4 mos now & I’ve met folks I wouldn’t otherwise.
We need to return to this as the norm.
@ChrisStefanick
Just about every young and middle-aged person (from teens to gen-xers) wants (and NEEDS) a reverent, traditional Mass. More Gregorian chant and incense, less 90s youth group feel-good songs and guitars. Really and truly.
Hi! No need to feel like I personally need your answers (though you’re perfectly welcome to discuss amongst yourselves). I simply found it amusing how often we humans toss out huge, philosophical thoughts at awkward times. My kids do this as they say goodnight ALL THE TIME...
Almost ALL of my students enjoy (or at min, appreciate) what we read: Beowulf, Inferno, Hamlet, Confessions, Jane Eyre, 1984, Silence, etc. They've told me, & I've overheard them tell others when they don't know I'm listening. Great books matter. Modeling a love for them MATTERS.
Every single one of my kids has LOVED the Odyssey from an early age. It's not even hard to see why, you've got one eyed monsters, battles, crazy gods and goddesses, dirty tricks, etc.
I was tired of channeling “1960s mom inspired by the tonsorial mood of Queen Elizabeth” a la 2020 pandemic quarantine, so I went back to my tried-and-true pixie. This time with unashamed grey in all its glory.
Sigh... that’s better.
I see all you productivity-obsessed folks with all your multi-email-sending and your Instagram-liveing-so-you-can-product-selling & telling of people to take advantage of this time to hustle, and I wonder if one thing that can come from this is a little break from all that talk.
1st day of summer break, 8am:
16 yo—still asleep; will be for a while
13 yo—“I’m toast; I’m just gonna read all day.”
10 yo—“Mom, is it too early to use power tools? Should I first build a fort or a trebuchet? Can I light rope on fire? Can I bake a cake? What else can I do?”
Starting our family’s annual holiday Harry Potter movie marathon, but everyone’s walking around making dinner during the first one because none of us are really into it but we’re purists so we have to start from the beginning because those are the rules.
Me packing for a nearby, 3-day family getaway: I think I can get away with 2 t-shirts, 1 pair of shorts, & some sandals.
Also me: Now should I bring all 7 books I’m currently reading? Or 8, just in case I finish them all & will have nothing to do...?
I just found out that my 9-year-old son's best friend mailed him a card to celebrate the 5th anniversary of their friendship. They go to school together, but he wanted to mail it so it'd be special. I love this kid.
To start off the year for my high school juniors & seniors, I assigned them a horribly written essay: write the worst essay you could imagine (and note which specific writing sins you're committing).
My fave might just be the one in Comic Sans with a hidden rickroll link.
I love that our priest said (from the front) that our church welcomes crying babies and fidgety kids in the service because it reminds us of our collective humanity.
My neighbor both runs the local indie bookshop and just won reelection to city council last night. She walked over to have me sign some books, ask if I'd do an outdoor event, & passed on a gift card from a reader who wanted to thank me for my work. I love life in a small town.
I keep reading convos about missing the "good old days" of the internet, when people blogged. Let it be known: YOU CAN STILL BLOG. I still do. I still enjoy reading blogs. Others do, too. I would read your blog.
Social media isn't the only platform, & it's not the boss of us.
You know how our grandparents’ generation is known for saving everything largely because of their experience with the Great Depression? I wonder if when we’re seniors we’ll be known as the generation obsessed with hand-washing.
The gun conversation that never goes anywhere in the U.S. is a prime example of an effect from the idol of American Exceptionalism. The numbers don’t lie from other countries. Yet ppl refuse to believe we can learn from them because “the U.S. is different, special, remarkable.”
@clhubes
Breakfast tacos for breakfast. I assumed everyone had them as a staple. Also, Tex-Mex in general 3-4x per week. We just called it “food” here in Texas.
@AndrewYang
I love trains, too, and wish more American cities were willing to adopt solid public transport. So much better for quality of life, the environment, and community development. 🚆
I just rewatched My Best Friend's Wedding for the first time after at least two decades, remembering it as sweet.
Reader, it is not. It is terrible. It is cringe-worthy. Why did I ever like this?
@johnmoe
In 1998 when I was a waitress in college I served Sandra Bullock + her friend. Egg white omelet with spinach and Swiss cheese; heard the name Keanu mentioned once and it took all my restraint not to pull up a chair and say, “What about Keanu?”
2018’s word: agency
- work out of love, not fear
- more yoga + sleep
- less sugar
- finish the novel
- plant a garden
- stare at eyes more than screens
- notice different kinds of trees, birds, rocks
- wear a swimsuit & be good with it
- read, read, read
- listen, listen, listen
We met on August 1, 2000 on a dirt road in a tiny Albanian village in Kosovo, 2 km from the Serbian border. It was fresh from the Milosevic dictatorship + genocide, and I was there to teach English to teenagers and he was there to be rebuild widows’ houses.
The comments on this are great 🙂
If y'all wouldn't mind dropping a comment/quote tweet of where you met your spouse & a pic - people seem interested 🤷🏻♂️
We met on hinge 🙏
One of my kids (13) is obsessively watching Biden administration press conferences, looking up cabinet appointments & keeping track in a spreadsheet. The other (10) is microwaving Starburst ten at a time to see if he can sculpt them into new shapes & flavors.
Streaming services need a category called 'Not Made For Kids But Kids Can Watch Because It Won't Scar Them For Life And The Parents Can Actually Enjoy It And Not Want To Stab Their Eyes With Forks Out Of Annoyance.'
This morning my youngest told me every hero has a sidekick, so he drew me two: French Press Girl and Laptop Boy, whose cape is a router that enables WiFi everywhere.
If you just realized today was the start of
#Advent
, or it snuck up on you & you're totally not ready, I get it. 100%. Don't sweat it. Remember, Advent is a gift, not a to-do list. It's an invitation to slow down. 🕯 1/2
Just got in a fun argument w the barista and who asked me to spell my name for the cup.
“That CAN’T be your name. That doesn’t make sense.”
“Promise, it’s on my birth certificate.”
“But it can’t be. It just doesn’t work that way.”
And this is why I usually give a fake name.
I just want to look people gently in the eye, put a comforting hand on their shoulder, and say, "Do you know that you still haven't changed your Venmo settings to private?"
My 13yo son just left with a friend to walk to the library for the weekly knitting club meeting, which is almost entirely spearheaded by older ladies who've been meeting together for years. ...I hope they're ready to help a group of ragtag middle schoolers learn the basics.
My 14-year-old son is currently printing a 180-page PDF research paper he found on Chernobyl because he's now on holiday break and can "finally read for fun."
I am truly raising some nerds around here.
You know it's both a pandemic and a snowpocalypse when you change from your sleeping lounge pants to your working-from-home lounge pants in order to feel more productive.