Day 78: Let’s make this a post about PLEASANT

THE WORLD IS BURNING, you guys. There are so many things to say, but for today, I really want to focus on some pleasant things. Because Oh. My. God.

E.T.A. I started writing this today before 45’s “announcement”. I’m glad I did, because otherwise, it would be a very long, angry, sweary rant.

Mae is so funny. There’s a Bleeding Hearts* plant that grows outside my office window. She is enchanted with these flowers and always wants to bring some to me. (Mae is always picking flowers for me, sometimes out of the neighbors’ yards. It is pretty much everything I’ve ever hoped for when it comes to being a mom.) BUT, when she picks these flowers, she picks the little flowers off of the stem, so there’s no real way to put them in water. So, they lay there on my desk, wilting. But Mae is excited, so how can I not be?

This guy. His name is Rob Kenney and he has a YouTube channel called “Dad, How Do I … ?” On it, he posts videos of how to do ordinary things like how to change a tire and how to use a stud finder and how to unclog a bathtub drain. Why does he do this? When he was 14, his dad told him (and his seven siblings) that he didn’t want them anymore and then took off.

Growing up without a dad is hard. Even though my dad was in our house until I was about 16, he was never really around and never taught us anything more useful than how to drink and yell at everyone. With his channel, Rob hopes to reach people who have also been abandoned by their dads so that they can learn all of those little things that their dads never taught them.

I watched Rob’s May 21st episode and cried through the whole thing. (I hope that’s not creepy because Rob appears to be somewhere around my age.) I am in love with how this guy took something that gutted him and changed his life into one of complete dysfunction and turned it into something as powerful as this YouTube channel. READ THE COMMENTS (this might be the only time I type that!) and you’ll see. Also, there’s a nice article on Shattered. Way to go, Rob Kenney! You’ve inspired me.

As of May 14, Mae has officially and legally been our daughter for five years. We made a cake. Box devil’s food with 7-minute frosting (my favorite but Mae said it was too sweet…whaaa?).

Lastly, I went out for a walk. It was a while ago. I don’t remember what day, but I think I’m well overdue for another walk. Anyway, I saw two really cool things on that walk, one right after the other, at the other end of our road. I think they’re both from the same house, and I love them so much. I’m working on similar for our end of the street. Ideas welcome — leave a comment!

I think we’ve grown a lot as a family these past 78 days. I am grateful for that. And we’ve done a bunch of stuff to make our backyard happy, where it wasn’t before (photos to come). That’s pretty cool. if we weren’t home, we wouldn’t be able to dedicate as much time to Mae’s needs as we are right now. Of course, are her needs exacerbated because of Stay-At-Home or Safer-At-Home? Good question.

* Click on photos for larger size.

P.S. I know the mobile experience on this sites sucks. I’m working on it! <3

P.P.S. Also, why don’t the fucking emoji things work?