free your soul

deep human voice: I'm not mama, mama's over there!

fawn, plaintively, continuing to approach: mee!

deep human voice: there, little guy! you're teeny-tiny!

fawn: (continues to approach)

deep human voice: here, let me-- we'll put you next to my coffee cup, so we can see how little you are.

fawn: (wobbles forward, lies down next to a travel coffee tumbler set down on the road. the tumbler has pictures of cute woodland creatures on it)

I am old enough to be a parent to a college-aged kid. I made it. It sucked. It was hard. I lost parts of my self I may never get back. But I made it.

You can make it too. You DON'T have to change who you are. You might have to hide things from time to time, but I want you to know that it shouldn't be about shame. It's about protecting those beautiful parts of yourself from harm and having the joy of them robbed from you. It doesn't make you any "less". Eventually all of those 'secrets' will be like spring bulbs. Beautiful bursts of color and life just waiting for a good, safe, warm day. You just gotta hold on.

You can make it. One day you'll be an old weirdo with creaking, crunching, knees. You will live long enough to see your own crow's feet. You'll stop caring about what other people think and honestly other people will stop caring about what you do. Eventually you get the "adultier adult" pass, and barely anyone gives you a second look. And if they talk shit you've got decades of practice under your belt and you can verbally eviscerate them for it. You can make it.

put the octopus in the basket

put the octopus in the basket

weigh the bas--

put the octopus in the basket

weigh the basket

put the octopus in the water