Thank you for sharing Mary Ellen Mitchell's essay. It adds another piece to the puzzle of why we are battling an epidemic of chronic loneliness. I'm going to ponder this.
So much good stuff! We live in a nice-ish neighborhood and really stand out as the house that doesn’t do “lawn care.” I would like to learn more about out how to intentionally cultivate a lawn/yard in a way that isn’t the standard. (For now, we just sort of let it be. And mow.)
The first essay really touched me. I love her paraphrase of Dorothy Day: “Everybody wants a revolution but nobody wants to work in child care.” So true! I saw a line once that said “Everyone on earth is either a mother or a child.” Caring well for children is so central to our collective well-being yet it feels totally pushed to the margins of what is seen as important. I’ve felt this acutely in many ways, one being receiving more and more invites to child-free weddings in recent years.
Yes, I loved her reflections too... 99% of our "revolutionary" work looks like washing dishes, changing diapers, and helping out with each other's child-rearing — and that can look like anything from babysitting to giving an encouraging nod to the mom with the screaming baby on the plane.
We've specifically only looked for houses in non-HOA neighborhoods because I really want to have a front yard garden! My husband works in irrigation and while it's his job to make sure customers are happy, it's also so frustrating to live in a desert and be watering turf... Maybe add some flowers? pollinator food? Something a little more drought tolerant? But nope, we want to grow KY bluegrass in a high desert.
Thank you for sharing Mary Ellen Mitchell's essay. It adds another piece to the puzzle of why we are battling an epidemic of chronic loneliness. I'm going to ponder this.
Indeed! There's a theme between so many collective thoughts these days, and loneliness is a big one.
So much good stuff! We live in a nice-ish neighborhood and really stand out as the house that doesn’t do “lawn care.” I would like to learn more about out how to intentionally cultivate a lawn/yard in a way that isn’t the standard. (For now, we just sort of let it be. And mow.)
The first essay really touched me. I love her paraphrase of Dorothy Day: “Everybody wants a revolution but nobody wants to work in child care.” So true! I saw a line once that said “Everyone on earth is either a mother or a child.” Caring well for children is so central to our collective well-being yet it feels totally pushed to the margins of what is seen as important. I’ve felt this acutely in many ways, one being receiving more and more invites to child-free weddings in recent years.
Yes, I loved her reflections too... 99% of our "revolutionary" work looks like washing dishes, changing diapers, and helping out with each other's child-rearing — and that can look like anything from babysitting to giving an encouraging nod to the mom with the screaming baby on the plane.
Check out Doug Tallamy's books "Bringing Nature Home".
Thank you!
We've specifically only looked for houses in non-HOA neighborhoods because I really want to have a front yard garden! My husband works in irrigation and while it's his job to make sure customers are happy, it's also so frustrating to live in a desert and be watering turf... Maybe add some flowers? pollinator food? Something a little more drought tolerant? But nope, we want to grow KY bluegrass in a high desert.
It's getting harder and harder to find non-HOA neighborhoods! Especially newer ones (less than 50 years old).