A Few Things | September 18
Holy cow we're down to one kid at home.
Family Updates
Hello! Happy Wednesday! So much to tell you! Let’s start with some family updates.
It was an incredibly memorable summer for our family — including an entire month where all of us were together (so rare!). Some of the highlights: I turned 50! We recorded our parenting audiobook. We went on a life-changing pilgrimage to Mont St. Michel. We were given tickets by friends and family to three different events at the remarkable Paris Olympics and soaked up every detail. When we weren’t pilgrimaging or olympic-ing, we packed in as many local adventures as possible — lakes, rivers, beaches, and landmarks. We had delightful house guests. I spent an outstanding week in Chicago for the DNC. And a week ago, we hosted the very first Normandy Retreat. (I loved it so much — still working on the report!) Oh, and we made tons of progress on the Small House — the kitchen is so close to finished.
A quick update on the kids:
August 9th: Ralph & Paola headed back to Utah for work and school.
August 14th: Olive headed back to Brooklyn for work.
September 2nd: Flora June started ninth grade. It’s called Troisième in France.
September 7th: Oscar headed back to Dublin for his second year of university. His first day of classes was September 9th.
September 14th: Betty moved into her apartment in Paris to start her first year of university. Her first day of classes was September 16th.
September 17th: Maude flew back to the U.S. for a bit.
We’ve had a full house for the summer, but as of yesterday, we are down to only Flora June at home. Which as you can imagine is a major change for us. The last time we only had one kid at home was 27 years ago when Ralph was born, and it didn’t last long — Maude arrived 18 months later. Hahahah.
All this leaving is emotional — I’m so happy for their adventures and new projects, but of course I tear up every time the train or car pulls away. What a treasure this summer was. Seriously it was so good. I’m deeply grateful for it.
Letters to Eksovaham
Oscar has been working on world-building for some creative writing projects over the last year, and during the pilgrimage, he would often walk with me and keep me entertained (and distracted from the hard parts), by telling me stories from the universe he has created and the novel he is writing.
When we got back from the pilgrimage, he started sending out a chapter a week in his substack. I’m so into the story! If you’d like to follow along — especially if you’re into fantasy — you can find chapters one, two, three, and four so far, and you can subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next ones.
A Few Things
Here are a few things I’ve been wanting to share with you:
-In The Guardian — Instagram has just announced Teen Accounts with specific restrictions. Any user who is under 18 will automatically be part of the Teen Accounts.
-From Dr. Jen Gunter’s newsletter, The Vagenda — Eight Takeaways from the 2024 Menopause Society Meeting.
-In the New York Times (gift link) — Sean Combs Is Denied Bail on Sex Trafficking and Racketeering Charges.
-From The Conversation — ‘The data on extreme human ageing is rotten from the inside out’. Most of what we know about very old people is probably wrong.
-From Brooke White — She has been recreating the Ralph Lauren runway styles only using stuff in her closet. So fun to watch.
-From The Washington Post (gift link) — A 12-year-old girl was hit by a car. It had $19,770 in unpaid tickets. “If someone hit her with his fists, he would get arrested,” Allen said. “But he hit her with a car, so he just gets a ticket and can walk away.”
-From San Francisco Chronicle — Behind locked drawers, in police departments all over California, sit documents no one is supposed to see. They conceal officers' misconduct, helping them land new jobs. These documents have been secret — until now.
-From Diana Weymar of Tiny Pricks Project — Crafting A Better World launched this week, and I’m honored to have my words included in the book. It’s the perfect size for a gift, and exactly what you need if you’re trying to face the world’s injustices, while also needing joy and inspiration.
Have You Ever Lost a Toenail?
A new experience at age 50: I lost a toenail! After the pilgrimage, my big toe turned dark and purple and eventually detached and had to be trimmed off. There was no pain — so don’t worry about me. It was just weird. I’ve never lost a toenail before but I read it’s not uncommon after events like marathons or pilgrimages.
The new nail is slowly growing in and I’m told it will probably take an entire year before the full nail is back. Again, I’m not in any pain but the nail bed (which no longer has a nail) is more sensitive than the surrounding areas. This morning when I was half-awake and still in bed, my brain started thinking up a protective measure for the nail bed — like a hard plastic shell that could cover it and prevent anything from rubbing up against it. And then I fully woke up and starting laughing, because the fix I was imagining is really just a toenail. I need a toenail! Hahaha.
That’s all for now because I don’t want this to get too long. But I still have lots to tell you, so don’t be surprised if I send out frequent newsletters until I feel more caught up. My essay about Ballerina Farm is very close to finished; I have lots of thoughts about the Creators vs. Journalists discussion that came about of the DNC; as usual I’m following the news closely and want to talk about current events and the election; we are finalizing the pre-order bonuses for our parenting book (yes, you will be able to get the pre-order bonuses even if you’ve already pre-ordered); I’m excited to tell you all about how the Retreat went; and so much more!
I hope you’re having a lovely week. Feel free to comment on anything I’ve mentioned above, or whatever is on your mind.
kisses,
Gabrielle
Can you say more about the pilgrimage (logistics, what it was like, why it was meaningful)? Lovely to hear all the news you’ve caught us up on. 👍🏿👍🏾👍🏽👍🏼
It doesn't surprise me you lost your big toenail after the pilgramage. My brother lost a toenail from climbing/hiking. My twin sister has lost two toenails and a thumbnail. When we were about 5 she picked up a dumbbell weight and dropped it on her big toe. Later she lost a toenail next to the piggy toe. Then she sat in a doll buggy and caught her thumb in the folding mechanism and lost the thumbnail. Lastly, she got a fungus infection under a big toenail and it lifted. She cut out the part that was loose and had to let it grow out. My poor sissy! I have never lost a toenail or fingernail.