Can we talk about children's books with messages that are supposed to seem deep and insightful but are actually a bit toxic??
I NOMINATE THE GIVING TREE 😤
The other day my 3yo son ran up and happily exclaimed that he could see a bird outside. "It's a chickadee! It's SO CUTE!"
Then he came back and said, "Actually I think it's a blackbird!"
Then he came and asked me to come look.
Folks, it was a huge black vulture. 😳
People who read The Very Hungry Caterpillar get upset that the story says the caterpillar went into a COCOON instead of a CHRYSALIS
as if the fact that the story has the caterpillar eating salami and lollipops didn't clue them in that this is not, in fact, a biology primer
More prayers please, from anyone who sees this. My 2yo son woke up with severe breathing trouble and my husband is taking him to the ER now.
I'm so scared. 😭
I understand the point is supposed to be that true love prioritizes another person's happiness even at personal cost; BUT TRUE LOVE DOES NOT ENABLE SELFISHNESS because selfishness isn't good for the person being selfish!
Apropos of nothing, I just need to mention that my 9-year-old girl is now so good at MarioKart that she can beat all her uncles and her dad who grew up playing MarioKart.
And while she beats the guys, her little sister sits there and roasts them 😆
It's a perfect partnership
So, I've never painted much before.
But a few weeks ago my 5yo daughter ate a plate of spaghetti at Olive Garden in this pose of true rapture, and, well, it HAD to be immortalized in some way. So I painted it.
This is a thread of the journey it was for me as a non-painter.
Trump: Gettysburg. What an unbelievable battle. That was the battle of Gettysburg. What an unbelievable I mean, it was so much and so interesting and so vicious and horrible and so beautiful and so many different ways… Gettysburg wow
It's strange having a living baby after a miscarriage, especially when the living baby is an age where you physically would not have been able to have him if the first baby had survived.
You have two children beloved in your heart whose existences are mutually exclusive. 💔
Let's not teach our kids that loving someone means you give them absolutely everything they want, even when they're really selfish about it, until you're so drained out that you're basically dead. 😳 This is like, actually really problematic, especially for certain personalities.
True love has appropriate boundaries not for the sake of the person showing the love but for the sake of the one loved, and the relationship as a whole.
One of the things we do periodically as a family is "fancy dinner." I put out candles, napkins, & full place settings, we play classical music and discuss the different eras/composers, and we practice our very best table manners. This was last night's fancy dinner, plated.
And hey, no shade if you love this book. I have friends who hold it dear because they find it beautiful; and I DO see the beauty, but I also see a real danger if we don't put proper context around the message of the story. It makes one point well, but lacks necessary caveats.
My husband and I agree that next time we get a dog, we should give it the most basic name ever.
I just can't wait for someone to ask, "Aw, what's your dog's name?" and reply "Oh, this is Brian."
My pastor arrived for a men's fellowship my husband is hosting and as he passed me he said "Yo" and I replied "Yo! Ho! The pirate's life for me!"
instant regret WHY AM I THIS WAY
As a 90s kid raised in a distinctly anti-feminist household, I thought this scene was a feminist myth, that men like this didn't exist.
And it wasn't liberals that convinced me I was wrong -- it was men on Twitter, many who identify as conservative. Not anons, but huge accounts.
Update: I haven't been able to respond to everyone but goodness I appreciate the kind words and the prayer. ❤️ The Lord hears.
They gave him epinephrine and oral steroid, his oxygen sat is good and his heart rate has gone back down. Seems to have been upper airway only, for now.
I asked my kids at dinner what they were thankful for. Kid
#3
said, "I'm thankful that we're all here."
And I was struggling to hold back some tears because yes, I am grateful, but no, we aren't all here ... 💔
... when my 3yo son piped up, "I'm thankful the DOG SHOW is here!"
Me to husband: "There could be rolling blackouts overnight"
10yo: "Blackouts?! In the Molly books, they had blackouts when they were hiding from bombs!"
Me: "Don't you think you'd know if we were at war ...?"
10yo: "WELL YOU MIGHT BE KEEPING THINGS FROM ME"
I'm always surprised when people say "I'M SHOCKED THAT SOME OF MY MUTUALS FOLLOW THIS SCUMBAG" when the scumbag is a well-known commentator or political figure.
I follow tons of people I don't agree with, just to make sure I'm not in an echo chamber. I thought that was normal?
I defy anyone to produce evidence of a worse autocorrect blunder than the one I just had in a text conversation with my sweet, very conservative mother-in-law. 😩
So he should be home soon, and hopefully there won't be any more issues. 😭❤️ This was really terrifying -- he woke up shaking, sweating, could barely get words out, his entire abdomen was heaving with every breath, and his breathing was terribly loud and rattly. Horrifying.
Have been struggling with pregnancy announcement ideas and just decided I'm going to post a photo of my(very pregnant)self with the caption "now that we're two-thirds through, I guess it's time to acknowledge the elephant in the womb"
I'm always surprised when people use this photo as meme material, given what was happening at the time (the President was being informed about the attacks on the WTC towers).
I can't see the look on the President's face without feeling deeply moved. It isn't really funny to me.
TIMELINE CLEANSE
My 5yo came in and said, "It was a nice day."
I said, "Oh really, why?"
She replied, "I sang a song about the wind, and it kept winding at me. Every time I said 'wind,' it winded at me."
🥹🥰
My husband couldn't remember the name of The Sound of Music, so as he was sputtering around trying to think of the title or a way to describe it, the best he could come up with was "Honey, I Sung to the Kids."
I always kind of low-key judged people who were highly emotive on social media. Now, walking the road of grief myself, I'm realizing it isn't immaturity or performativity that causes people to do this -- it's that your grief feels so huge, you never have enough places to put it.
Even as a complementarian, I don't like the argument that "women aren't allowed to be elders because their empathy/gullibility will lead the church astray," because it implies that men are, conversely, invulnerable to error, or less so. And history simply doesn't show that.
It's just so wonderful being a person who has recently lost a child to miscarriage and now hearing a gazillion people loudly assert, for the purpose of a political debate, that I didn't really lose a person.
Super fun. Love it. Keep up the good work, America.
Why do some anti-mask/anti-vax types get so hysterical when they see someone wearing a mask in the car, and immediately assume that person is wearing it in the car because they're paranoid? I have worn mine in the car because I forgot it was on.
Not trying to bring hate on this mom, I'm sure she's doing her best. But as a homeschooling mom, former homeschooler myself, and Christian, I prefer to help my kids learn how to think about things they hear that I don't agree with, rather than just walk out.
The kids were excited about a homeschool gathering at the local library this morning and not even 1 minute in I had to gather my kids and walk out. The first words out of the speaker’s mouth were “we are all related to stars because we are made of star dust.”
Guys. 😭 My 9yo got craft felt for Christmas as an early gift because she wanted to use it to make gifts for others. She just gave her 2yo brother this teddy bear she made. 🥹🥹🥹
A lot of people "don't like children" and I'll never understand it. They are the best humans. ❤️
:Trump wins an election:
Me: "Hey, this is a problem. Christians shouldn't support this man."
Them: "Well, God is sovereign and appoints rulers! So argue with him."
:Trump loses an election:
Them: "ELECTION FRAUD! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! WE NEED TO FIGHT THIS!"
Why do so many grandparents get so snappish at tiny grandchildren for how they treat furniture and stuff? Your furniture won't be at your funeral to eulogize you when you're gone. Your grandchildren will.
As someone for whom "hanging chads" are a core memory, I always find it really funny when people suggest that "PAPER BALLOTS ONLY" are the foolproof solution to election fraud. 😂
Humankind's affinity for spicy food really is rather amazing. At what point does a person say, "you know what would make this taste better? A little bit of pain"
I'm gonna make a confession here, and y'all can make fun of me if you want, but .......
..... I actually like Thomas Kinkade's art. 😬😬😬
I'm not gonna put it in my house or anything, and I know he was problematic in some ways, but I love to look at his paintings.
@benryanwriter
You falsely presume that I presume that 😆
The key is in the way the story is framed. Is it positive, negative, or neutral toward bad behaviors? I'm fine with negative or neutral, but dislike when bad behaviors are praised or portrayed positively. I feel TGT does the latter.
Guys my husband was driving on the freeway and saw the Google car driving by and got super excited and waved
And then went back later to street view and found himself 🤭😂
Last new baby hospital tray breakfast of my mothering career (unless something very unexpected happens). It's been a lovely ten years. ❤️ This little newbie is a great one to celebrate it with.
Personally I feel like there are 364 days in the year where it's perfectly fine to voice concerns about the monarchy and even distaste for the monarch. But to me it's really ugly to do it on the day of her death. Just my two cents.
Only a couple weeks into my grief journey. I process verbally, so here's a 🧵 of some of the things that have surprised me so far about how grief feels.
@CarissaCaples
It's never occurred to me to tell single people that marriage is hard too. I hated being single and I love being married. The loneliness of singleness is really hard. :-/
Would I ever tell someone dealing with infertility that "parenting is hard too"? No! Just let people hurt.
@Broken_Devotion
One of the early ways I knew my husband was a keeper was by the many different acts of service that he quietly performed to help me. ❤️ He wasn't looking for thanks or praise, he just genuinely wanted to make my life better and easier. He's still that way!
Babies will never cease to amaze me in their capacity for sleep resistance. WE'RE IN A PITCH-BLACK ROOM WITH WHITE NOISE. I'M ABOUT TO FALL ASLEEP STANDING HERE AND ROCKING YOU, BRAIDEN
I know many don't feel this way, but I love hospital stays after birth. 😂 I'm sitting here, eating a luxurious breakfast which I didn't prepare and which I won't have to clean up after, my baby is snoozing, and honestly the city view is pretty great!
Just had a long conversation with my dad, who is unvaccinated and very high-risk. I made my most impassioned plea for him to get vaccinated, and he was unusually quiet. I'd appreciate prayers that maybe something I said struck home, and that he'll get protected from this disease.
Sigh.
I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, it's a very small thing when your child has a medical emergency that resolves well and fully.
But I feel like parents need a support group for dealing with the terror and emotional fallout afterward.
Would just like to say that seeing my little ones with COVID has made me feel one thousand percent justified in every decision we made over the past 2.5 years to keep our kids safe from this virus. It's extremely mean. I'm watching my children suffer.
@gertieok
These vultures hang out here a lot. For a while my daughter had a huge phobia of "owls" and wouldn't go outside alone because of it. Took me a while to figure out she was talking about the vultures. 😂
@lurioosi
There are dangers to overthinking, but there are also dangers to under-thinking and oversimplifying! I've seen those dangers play out a lot in people of my generation.
I feel like so much of my domestic life is me unlearning the mantra "don't do anything halfway."
Y'all if I don't do some things halfway they won't get done at all.
Destigmatize learning how to set reasonable goals instead of demanding superhuman levels of perfection.
If you're young and you're apprehensive about middle age, let me just reassure you: it can be a golden era. Young enough to have decent energy and health, old enough to not give a flying flip what people think anymore.
Please pray for us. My 2yo son has a bad virus, it's giving him breathing issues. It's not a "take him in immediately" situation yet, so we're going to give him the best sleep we can and reevaluate tomorrow -- but it's very distressing.
... As a Christian, truth is an underpinning that I need, and I can't imagine grieving without it. But in any given moment, truth is a joy alongside sadness, not joy instead of sadness. When people give it as a "remedy," it does not feel good at all and is anti-comforting.
Can we discuss how God COULD have made food just a totally practical fuel-your-body thing, but instead he infused it with his own amazing creative genius and then endowed humans with the capacity to be constantly making new delicious combos
He doesn't get enough praise for this
Little guy is doing much better this evening. ❤️ He played with bubbles for a long time (he's obsessed). Getting him to eat or drink is a challenge, but he finally had a small popsicle and seems to feel much better afterward. Barking cough has turned into normal productive cough.
It is my due date.
Induction was scheduled for 7 a.m.
Hospital called at 4:30 a.m. to say they were too full, and told me to call back at 10 to see if I could come then.
OB office left voicemail at 8 to say I had "missed my induction" 😳
(1/3)
🧵 So I have some thoughts about the CT harassment/abuse scandal, specifically for my brothers in Christ who may be feeling confused or even defensive right now.
I love banter, wit, jokes, and honestly there's a part of me that even enjoys a good put-down.
But the older I get, the more firmly I believe we need less of those things, and more earnestness and gentleness. Even in our rebukes.
4. Joy and hope in the Lord, prayer, Scripture, theological truth -- these things are positive and needed, but they don't negate or diminish the sadness. They don't really make me *feel* better. They are good, and I need them. But the Big Sad is there regardless. ....
Sherlock Holmes, examining a lock: "The resident is a drunkard! See all the scratches around the keyhole?"
[I think about this every time my sober self tries to unlock a door and misses the keyhole repeatedly for the first few seconds]
[I guess Sherlock never met me]
3. Grief is not primarily cognitive, it's visceral. I don't feel sad because I'm thinking sad thoughts -- I feel sad even when I'm thinking about totally unrelated/ordinary things. That's why it's so inescapable. When I wake up, before I've thought anything sad, I *feel* sad.
I'm overwhelmed and grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers for our family and my sweet boy. ❤️😭 Thank you all so much.
He's still pretty sick, but nowhere near as bad as he was this morning. I just put him down for a nap, and really hoping he'll sleep well.
UPDAAAAAATE
My doc never called, but I called the hospital at 10 a.m. as they'd originally instructed me, and they told me to mosey on in. So we're here! Still waiting for the induction to officially start.
And I've got my glamorous saffron gown on. 😆
I am as pro-vax as they come. But the ugly comments I see other pro-vaxxers make on the posts of people who are fighting for their lives in the hospital ... just blow my mind. Some even seem like they exult in unvaxxed people getting what they "deserve."
I have cleaned my room.
I have cleaned my bathroom.
I have laundered and folded the baby's clothes.
I have written my baby shower thank you notes.
I have packed my hospital bag.
ONE THING REMAINS
Something I love to do, when I have time, is make felt embroidered Christmas ornaments to give to my friends. This is a thread of some of my favorites that I've done! I usually copy pictures I find online, but every now and then I make my own pattern from scratch.
2. Along with the above, grief feels *physical*. It's a sinking in my body. I can feel my face sagging, my stomach sinking, it feels like everything is physically just low to the ground.
It's weird looking at my toddler and thinking, "Someday he'll be smarter than me. My mind will age, and his will mature, and then he'll be the one taking care of me."
Not today, though. Today he's shrieking at me because I won't let him wear two pairs of shoes at the same time.
So this idea that women are eager to misconstrue normal behaviors and ruin men's reputations? This is a fiction. I won't say it has NEVER happened but it's nowhere near as common as women being unprepared to face unwanted sexual advances and hesitant to report.
Just saw a legacy news media site use the phrase "unchartered waters" in an actual headline 😱
What is editing coming to these days?! How did no one catch that???