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I’ve been feeling existential lately. When I’m feeling like this it’s hard to write to you because my thoughts feel jumbled. So, I’m trying something different today: I’m answering the question “How Are You?” truthfully. What follows is more stream of consciousness than my usual letter, so bear with me.
Since I last wrote you in mid-June, my son K came down with Hand Foot and Mouth which is seriously the devil’s disease (IYKYK). K spent almost a week not being able to eat and in a ton of pain. It was brutal.
Luckily, he healed just in time for our annual July 4th trip with Justin’s family. This year we rented a house in Colorado. It was one of those trips that parents of little kids know all too well. K had a blast with his cousins. Justin and I came home bedraggled after four days of full-time parenting and flight re-routing due to Texas storms. Despite the exhaustion, I’m pleased to report that this year’s trip did not involve me climbing into a pack-and-play like last year’s (yay). And, Colorado is gorgeous.
Earlier this week I finished reading David Wallace Wells classic book, The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming (his NY Magazine piece of the same name is a great synopsis). Critics complain that Wells presents an overly pessimistic analysis of climate change. Meh. I live in Texas where a half million people are still without electricity in Houston thanks to hurricane Beryl. A dystopian future does not feel too far off to me (if you’re in the mood for climate content, particularly in relation to parenting,
‘s newsletter is thoughtful and smart).