š A few words
Today marks the beginning of the next five years. My daughter and I moved here in 2017 with the goal of co-familying with her dad and his wife while Mila attended school. This morning she starts the eighth grade, marking her final year in middle school, and officially starting the clock for the countdown until graduation. Well, countdown of sorts. As it turns out, the suburbs of Kansas City are a pretty great place to raise a kid. Thereās museums, historical landmarks (the Oregon Trail starts here), major league sports teams of almost every type, a fun downtown area, a legit opera house, and being centrally located means itās fairly inexpensive for us to travel.
This past weekend, we went to NYC to celebrate Milaās upcoming fourteenth birthday. Our first night we took the subway to our old neighborhood, grabbed some pizza and meandered around our old spots. I successfully gave directions to some (very lost) tourists and felt like a true New Yorkers. We went to brunch with friends, wandered around SoHo for back to school shopping, and saw her favorite play on Broadway (Beetlejuice) again. But my favorite part of our whole trip was exploring the areas near the NYU campus, and seeing the neighborhoods anew through Milaās anticipatory eyes. She wants to come back to New York, go to school year. I mean, a lot can change in 5 years, and I wonāt be disappointed with whatever she decides, but I really admire her goals for herself. At her age, New York was too far and too big for me to dream ofāI couldnāt even commit to the Seattle area at 18.
So weāll see where we end up in 2027. More than anything Iām looking forward to what the next five years brings to Milaās life and knowing her even better by then. āØ
š¤ Recommended reading
This short piece from Deirdre Sullivan is one that I keep coming back to, year after year. Like her father, mine has made similar comments throughout the years to āalways go to the funeral.ā I canāt even count how many Iāve been to at this point in my life but for some reason they never get any easier. I lost a colleague at work recently, and not being able to physically go to the funeral has really fucked with me this time around. Iām having a really hard time accepting that this loss is real, thereās so much I was looking forward to still about working with them.
š Something random
On that note, here is something from one of the amazing Glitch community members, that mesmerized me. If you click through the different ātracksā you can see the method behind the seemingly randomness and I donāt know why but itās so satisfying to sit and watch. Plus, I love jewels, emoji, and internet projects with the goal of just existing online. Enjoy.
Thatās it, dear ones. I hope you take time to tell your loved ones and friends how much they mean to you. It costs nothing and feels great.
ājenn