Dear Family,

"I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer."

--Matisse

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Jemmerisms:

"[I made] a teeny candle, in case you want a teeny bit of light…an' this one is even _tinier_, for those times when you need an even tinier light."

"[The snow] is so pretty, 'cause it's not falling super fast or super slow."

Wash Dishes.

Do Laundry.

Put Away Laundry From Monday, and also from Last Thursday.

Figure out how to make sausage out of a beef heart.

Remember: that Ben told me not to tell him (“or just lie”) if I am cooking with organ meat, so that he won't have to know he's eating it.

Choose: not to ponder the ethical implications of the previous point.

Dear Family,

So it turns out that in the time I currently have available to me, I am not going to become a political scientist, or a molecular biologist, or an investigative reporter. I had this realization right about 3am on one of the blurring-together-nights this past week, during one of Eliza's super un-fun screaming wake-ups. She's in the midst of yet another apparent bout of especially bad reflux, which appears to be just one of the factors that cause her to refuse most of the food we offer her (and to sleep terribly at night).

Sigh.

Dear Family and Friends,

Announcing...

...my DECISION:

I want to start writing a whole lot more. I want to get published. And I'd kinda like to find some paying work as a writer. I have no idea how to manifest that last part, but I'll work on it later; for now, I'm planning to branch out (in other words, to write about topics in addition to Gut Flora and Parenting).

So...

...I'm taking REQUESTS! (This is scary.)

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the Good"

--Voltaire.

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A sobering and there-but-for-fortune sort of essay, concerning the state of mentally ill kids and their families:

http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html

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This is a great reminder about the challenges Parenting Today, and it's good not only because of the comic at the end:

by Sarabeth

Inspired by the words "Sweet Sixteen" and the colors on paint swatches: "acorn squash," "summer squash," "Beach Ball Yellow," "Optimistic Yellow," "Daffodil," "Decisive Yellow" and "Cheerful"

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I've always wanted to write a sort of retrospective memoir, one of those "Back when I was Sweet Sixteen"-kinds of pieces that evoke honeysuckle evenings and vacations by the boardwalk near the sea.

Dear Family,

"There is only one thing people like that is good for them: a good night's sleep."
--E. W. Howe

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Jemmerisms:

“I broke my rubber band...an' now I can do so much cool stuff with it.”

“When you say, 'Do you want your hat, Jem?', you're REALLY saying, 'You should wear your hat.'”

“It's nice, looking at a baby and watching it seeing you and smiling.”

Dear Family and Friends,

Generally it's not clear to me where Time goes, all things considered.

And then comes a day like June 17th, during which the earth is obviously still spinning but suddenly there's some kind of vivid, punctuating event. And just then, as Calvin might say, things go KA-POW! In that moment it's like Time officially stands still.

Our new baby girl was born early on Father's Day morning. At 7:32am: KA-POW!

Dear Family,

“When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad--and that is my religion.”
--Abe Lincoln

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Jemmerisms:

“I know I'm counting right for 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven'...but after I say 'ten, eleven' I _don't_ know if I'm saying it right!”

“Will hairs grow out of my armpit? Because I don't want them to.”

http://louisaenright.wordpress.com/tag/john-harvey-kellogg/