Settling In Gently by R.A.Davis

Do you know that there is a whole rich ecosphere of Mormon feminism? And it's been fermenting and mossing and mulching and growing and sprouting and reseeding along for 50 years? My mom, way back in the late 70s, was the kind of feminist it was possible for a 20 year old Mormon from Provo to be. She saw the face of God and called her Mom. These ladies were her pals. The Exponent II Magazine was founded in 1974 as a-- what is the appropriate gathering place for Mormon feminists? A Foyer? A Forest? A Grove? And these amazing women have been holding conversations and each other for decades. When the Mormon church opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, and fired BYU professors who talked about Heavenly Mother, and disfellowshipped ladies who wanted to come to church in slacks, and fought same sex marriage, the Mormon feminist forest floor was the soft mulchy place where people came to fall apart and be nourished and regrow. And I just had a piece published there! It is in the volume on th...

So we lived on an experimental ag station and there were all these crazy stories about the poison they dumped out into the soil up there-- whole outbuildings that the older workers were like, uhhhhh, I wouldn't walk over there. And definitely don't let your kids go over there. And maybe don't eat the fruit from the trees that grow there. But, you do you. It stressed me out. But it was practically free housing on Kauai, on a 100 acre farm where I could see 20 waterfalls on the face of Waialeale every morning from my (crumbling) front steps. So that's where we lived. And if that contributed to my two Kauai-born kids' later freaky auto-immune disorders... well, fuck. I don't know.  So now we no longer live on an experimental farm where we know the terrifying history of pesticide and herbicide-- we live in a suburban subdivision where who knows what the soil has been through? hah hah oh dear. ANYWAY SO We also live in grief-land. And even though this grief is acquir...

Fear: What to do When Someone is Suicidal NOTE: ARE YOU SUICIDAL? THIS IS NOT FOR YOU. CALL 988 RIGHT THIS SECOND.  Are you afraid someone close to you suicidal? Read on. This post is for people who are afraid their husband/wife/kid/parent/friend/roommate/family member is going to kill themselves.  IF YOUR PERSON IS IN CRISIS THIS SECOND, CALL 988 FOR THE SUICIDE HELPLINE. CALL 911 AND ASK FOR A WELLNESS CHECK FOR YOUR PERSON. They can connect you to whatever local resources are available.  Okay story time.    So on the 4th of July, a couple of dads in our cul de sac went ALL out. We put our folding chairs on the driveway and lit our tiny sparklers and sat back to enjoy the show. My neighbor-bestie (I shall call her T) took one look at the other neighbors’ DIY Cul-De-Sac of Fire Rocket extravaganza and said, “I hate fireworks!! I know it’s stupid, but I always think they’re going to burn down my house! Sorry!! I know I’m being paranoid, but I just can’t!!” And s...

  Call for Submissions for Past and Present Unschoolers! Are you a current or former un-schooling family? Have you used unschooling elements or ideas in your home-based learning? Were you unschooled or homeschooled in a kid-centered way? We want your stories for an anthology! We’re collecting personal essays from self-identified unschoolers and homeschoolers. This anthology’s purpose is to shine a light on the relatable disasters, the astonishing successes in an unschooling life. We want to hear about your impressive successes and your weird wins. W e want to hear about the time your kids spent 72 hours in a tent on the kitchen counter, or the time when you developed a crush on a C-drama idol and taught yourself Mandarin. We also want to hear about disasters, disappointments, and the hard-learned heartbreaking lessons that are inevitable when you approach learning with openness, curiosity and creativity.  We welcome humor and rage and grief. We welcome stories of failure ...