Rewriting news and touching grass
The brightest part of this long-ass January has been the time spent with our adult sons, and it's fun to learn from them for a change.
We’re almost through January, and it only took 37 weeks! January, as we know, was named for the Roman god Janus, who caught all kinds of shit in middle school because he had two faces and his name had “anus” in it. He therefore vowed for all eternity to make everyone else as miserable as he was.*
* Do not fact-check this. Fact-checking is so 2024.
January has been long and busy, as our brains and fingers and psyches have begun the long thaw. We’re just nine days into The Recrudescence and readying our responses to these execrable executive orders and sham Senate confirmation hearings.
We were particulary disappointed that both of Michigan’s Senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, voted to confirm puppy-killer Kristi Noem for Secretary of Homeland Security. So we’ve begun the ritual of calling their offices regularly to thank them when they find their spines and call them out when they lose them. One call won’t move the needle, but any sand you can throw into the gears of the bad actors is good, and any support you can give the helpers is good, too. (You can read the extended version of this on Magda’s new personal blog site.)
Robert is home with Doug for a few weeks while he sorts out his South Dakota Skid and preps for his new gig when Fire Season re-starts. Among his contributions are 1) guided yoga sessions each morning, 2) installing a life-changing bidet, and 3) teaching Doug how to alter text on websites. Hilarity has ensued:
After having spent so much time with our sons over the winter, we’ve taken a lesson from their playbook and made the time to "touch grass." It's a Gen Z imperative that means "get off your device that's keeping you all twisted up in your head and go connect with the natural world." Doug has actually attempted winter cycling now that the temps are above freezing, and Magda has resumed morning walks with her undeterrable husband, who believes "there's no bad weather, only bad clothing choices.” While she doesn't enjoy the walks themselves (apart from the relaxing, unfettered time together), she has slept a lot better and confronted her days with a much clearer head. Maybe these adult kids of ours are onto something.
We’ll be back with Episode 67 of the podcast next Wednesday, when we’ll be interviewing certified nutritional therapy practitioner Maya Gangadharan about how to optimize your gut health with probiotics.
Thanks for reading, and we believe Caroline.
Magda and Doug