Godparents — Tradition or Trend?
Hi, I’m Gabrielle Blair and this is my newsletter. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my work, please consider a paid newsletter subscription: just $5/month or save money with the $50/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $75. Or, some of you have let me know you’d rather support my work directly via Paypal and Venmo (@gabrielle-blair). Thank you! Seriously, thank you. Support from readers keeps this newsletter ad and sponsor-free.
A Quick Report From Me
Hello there! How are you? Here’s a quick report from me:
1) We arrived home from Amsterdam on Wednesday evening, the 19th, and Ben Blair went to New Mexico the very next day for an accreditation conference. While he was gone, we had a full house — with 3 cousins visiting and our daughter Olive home on a school break. There was lots of baking, some yardwork, and I started painting the doors of the Small House. Very happily for me, Ben arrived home yesterday evening — everything is easier when he’s around.
2) Over on social media, I reported on the Amsterdam trip, and I gave an extensive renovation update about windows.
3) I read a poorly-written article about author Brandon Sanderson (and the accompanying Twitter brouhaha), which got me very curious about Sanderson and I ended up reading (and very much enjoying!) the Mistborn trilogy. Have you read it?
4) As Twitter dies (I am sincerely so sad about it), Twitter-alternatives are hopeful for new users and I am watching closely to see if one of the platforms really takes off. Spoutible is currently the most comfortable to me — I trust the creator and it functions just like Twitter, so it’s easy for me to navigate. But this week, a platform called Bluesky is getting a lot of attention. There’s also Mastadon, Post, Notes (which is something here on Substack that I haven’t tried yet), and probably others I don’t know about. Have you tried any of the alternatives? Do you have any you are betting on or making predictions about?
Godparents: Tradition or Trend?
I was going through my blog archives and found a post from 2011 about Godparents. It’s just two paragraphs, and it has 90 comments. Here’s the text:
I’m trying to get up to speed on the modern day version of Godparents. I can’t help but notice that many of my friends — some religious, some not — haven chosen Godparents for their children. The idea of people I trust keeping my kids in mind is wonderful. Of course, that happens every day with aunts, uncles, friends and neighbors. But there’s something interesting about making the relationship formal.
I’m so curious. What’s your experience with Godparents? Did you choose some for your children? Or do you plan to? Did you choose relatives or friends? Do they have specific duties? Have you heard of OMGmother? Did you grow up with Godparents yourself? Is/was the relationship what you hoped it would be?
You can check out the original blog post if you’d like to read the comments — and I’m still curious about this topic if you’d like to leave your own comments below.
I think it’s such a good example of what blogging was like back in the day. It was so easy to have conversations! So easy to ask a question, to share thoughts in response, and to read all the responses. These days, those two paragraphs would probably end up as an Instagram post. But Instagram is not built for conversation — following conversations in the comments is really difficult, sometimes impossible.
Where do you think a conversation like that would fit in these days? Should it still be a blog post? Could it be a two-paragraph newsletter? A Twitter Thread? An Instagram post?
Book Events in Salt Lake City and Atlanta!
I am headed to the US in May — to Phoenix for a conference on the 8th and 9th, and for our son Ralph’s graduation from Berkeley on May 13th. While I’m there, I thought it would be ideal to do a few more book stops. My publicist is still working on events in Berkeley and Phoenix, but Salt Lake City and Atlanta are confirmed! Here is info and links so you can get your tickets:
SALT LAKE CITY
Two Dates:
Wednesday, May 10th, 6:00 PM
Thursday, May 11th, 6:00 PM - Sold out!
[UPDATE: The Thursday event sold out, and a Wednesday event was just added.]
King’s English Bookshop, 1511 S 1500 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
In conversation with Amy McPhie Allebest of Breaking Down Patriarchy
Click here for Wednesday tickets
ATLANTA
Monday, May 15th, 7:00 PM
Eagle Eye Bookshop, 2076 N. Decatur Road – Decatur, GA 30033
In conversation with author, Jessica Handler
Click here for tickets
By the way, I haven’t given up on events in Tulsa and Chicago, but it looks like I’ll be there in October instead of May. I can’t wait!
UK/International Edition of Ejaculate Responsibly!
This is so cool! The UK edition or International Edition of the book comes out on May 11th. It has a different subtitle, a new letter from me, and some of the stats inside have been changed to have an international (instead of US) focus. It will be sold in the UK, in South Africa, in Australia, and in New Zealand.
And here’s a video of me unboxing my advance copies.
Lately on Design Mom
Fluffy Lemon Pudding
This recipe is like lemon bars with the crust on top. If you are into lemon desserts, this one is 5-stars.
Tips for a Smooth Move
Whether you’re moving across town, across the country, or across the ocean, here are some packing tips to help. And there are so many additional helpful tips in the comments!
Spring Arugula and Pea Shoot Salad
This delicious spring arugula and pea shoot salad makes good use of fresh, green spring veggies, greens, and herbs.
That’s all for now. I hope you are going to have a lovely spring weekend. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.
kisses,
Gabrielle
as we are not religious, we did not choose godparents for our daughters, but our youngest clearly felt a lack and chose two godmothers for herself (lol) when she was about 10 ~ one of them has been fairly active in her life; the other not so much, but she loves them both & they love her.
re: godparents, it was never a part of my upbringing. However, as an adult I was asked three different times to be a godmother to someone’s newborn. I turned down two requests because I knew they were meant in the serious and traditional sense and I was not interested in raising children. It was not easy to say no. The 3rd request was accepted gladly because I understood the parent’s intentions were for me to mentor….there were plenty of parental siblings to raise if necessary. My goddaughter is now 32 yrs. old. We continue to share an amazing bond and I am forever grateful to be part of her family. So I guess it’s all about context.