Archiving as Artform
Dear reader,
Oh, these dog days of summer. Thick, humid heat. Let it lull you to laziness. The only movement to slap a mosquito, point out the firefly bouncing along the day-lilies.
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I'm currently filling these moments muddling through a vulnerability hangover from a decade of writing in “real-time” online.
As the baby naps, I archive my Instagram, circa 2012. Often with the latest Real Housewives in the background (Mothers in the home who had your soaps, I see you.). It’s an arduous process but it heals me to stow past versions of myself away. We all go about moving to the next chapter in different ways. The point is, we must turn the page.
Next chapter I must go. The previous ones have been beautiful, so achingly sweet I don't want to release my grip. Like the muscle in my ass putting me into physical therapy and stopping me from training for a half-marathon — the pain will go away when you release the tension. Thank the literal pain in my ass for this wonderful life advice. Use it to your advantage. Otherwise, my bill is a waste, thank you.
As playwright Sarah Ruhl said to herself when she found out she was having twins:
All right then, annihilate me; that other self was a fiction anyhow. And then I could breathe. I could investigate the pauses.
I've since found a treasure trove of titles with mother as protagonist since I started actively digging. I keep adding to this list. For anyone thinking Mother is a boring storyline (it is rarely a Mother who thinks this), plot twist: these authors will prove you wrong before you finish the introduction.
A little astro weather report before I leave you to mosquito-scratching and firefly-scouting: today is the Leo New Moon, in the month of Leo Season, halfway through the Lion's Gate portal. Soak it in, express it out.
See you around August 11 full sturgeon moon (this is the day before my birthday & I am INCORRIGIBLE about celebrating my birthday for as long as I can, so just know this if I'm late to the inbox party next month).
Leo blessings, Em
Originally sent to newsletter subscribers in July 2022.
