bird by bird

“There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told, especially if that person is a woman. As hard as we have worked and as far as we have come, there are still so many forces conspiring to tell women that our concerns are petty, our opinions aren’t needed, that we lack the gravitas necessary for our stories to matter. That personal writing by women is no more than an exercise in vanity and that we should appreciate this new world for women, sit down, and shut up.” ― Lena Dunham, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"     

We met at space camp when we were 14, or was it on a panel at the National Braille Association Conference? Oh, it doesn't really matter. He lives a block away from me, and when we meet up, we each leave our respective apartments and meet halfway. I like to think that our whole relationship is that way; we meet each other halfway. We have some things in common. We are both tall. We both studied English in college. We are both from the Midwest and thereby pronounce "coyote" properly (/ kɔɪˈəʊt/) . And there are parts of our lives, our histories, our interests that are very different.  This, I love. We get to introduce each other to new ideas, and we get to teach each other about the things we love. He has taught me about fencing and football and food. I've introduced him to books and different spots in our neighborhood. Some things we discover together. In the past two seasons, I've learned so much, about fencing and football and food, but also...

I'm alive! I'm alive!! I know, this poor baby blog has been gathering cobwebs the past month or so, and I'm so sorry [mom, my one reader]. I really hope to pick this back up, and drop by more regularly to scribble down some quotes, lessons, laughs, and stories. December stuff that I remember: In December I went back to South Dakota for a week for Christmas celebrating and family/friend reuniting. I had a cold most of the time I was home, but it was a great excuse to stay snuggled inside my mom's cozy home with cats and Christmas treats. My mom, sister, and I watched movies on the couch almost every single night, and cats Simon and Garfunkel made themselves at home on piles of thick blankets on our laps. It was perfect. One South Dakota Friday night, I packed up and drove a couple of hours in a snow storm to Sioux Falls, SD for a night with my college crew (most, but not all of college crew). It was so great to see, squeeze, and sip with so many old, good friends...

'Tootie' Smith: Nobody's going to have them, not if we can't take them to New York! I'd rather kill them if we can't take them with us! Esther Smith: Oh, Tootie, don't cry. Don't cry, it's all right. You can build other snow people in New York. 'Tootie' Smith: No, you can't! You can't do any of the things that I can do in St. Louis! Esther Smith: No, no, Tootie, you're wrong. New York is a wonderful town. Everybody dreams about going there, but we're luckier than lots of families because we're really going. Wait till you see the nice new home we're going to have, and the loads and loads of new friends we're going to make. But the main thing is, Tootie, that we're all going to be together, just like we've always been. That's what really counts. We could be happy anywhere as long as we're together.

I've been listening to this song nonstop for months, and now I get it.