It’s been a while. My apologies. This situation with my back has been rough and I’m trying to catch up. I still owe you an essay, but that’s not in the cards for me this week, so I wanted to at least share a 10 Things (even if it’s landing in your inbox two days late).
Enjoy the fake spring, Farah. That period between worrying about diapers and worrying about drugs doesn’t last too long.
I loved this article from The Atlantic about the history of babysitting, which looks at bigger trends like financial independence for young women and teens’ declining participation in the workforce, too. I’m a huge fan of babysitting — both of my boys earned good money as sitters and learned a lot about domestic life and responsibility from doing it. Pro tip: If your kid is interested in babysitting — or even just staying home alone — have them complete the American Red Cross Babysitting Course.
I finished two TV shows and two books in an effort to distract myself from my back pain. First, the TV shows: One Day (which broke my heart wide open) and Fisk (which doesn’t seem to have a trailer that does it justice — just trust me and give it a couple episodes). On the book front, I read two memoirs: Lyz Lenz’s This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life and Crying in H Mart.
Every new mom in the city of Flint, Michigan, a city with one of the highest child poverty rates in the country, will now receive $500 per month in cash aid for their baby’s first year of life. I’ll be watching this experiment very closely.
Only 20 people have finished the Barkley Marathon within the allotted 60 hours since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989. This year, Jasmin Paris, a British veterinarian and mother, became the first woman to make it to the yellow gate at the end of the eccentric Appalachian race based on the prison escape of James Early Ray, who assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr. (This finish line video of Paris is pretty great.)
Can you spot the difference between an AI-generated breakup text and one written by a human? Take this quiz to find out.
I didn’t want to hear it either, but spring is a great time to replace lots of important household objects, from air purifier filters and surge protectors to toilet brushes and toothbrushes.
Ever wonder how much a full-time worker needs to earn to cover the costs of their family’s basic needs in a given area? MIT’s Living Wage Calculator has the answer.
Also from MIT, the cloud now has a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry. “A single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.” (This piece is a bit of a slog, but ultimately very interesting.)
Lately, I’ve been ending 10 Things with a poem. Shall I keep it up? While you think about your answer, here’s one I read this week:
The Patience of Ordinary Things
by Pat SchneiderIt is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?
Have a great week,
I stumbled onto Fisk in the last few months and loved every minute 😂 - what a delight!!
Love it Kate! Thanks for today’s 10 things - especially the fake spring. Feel better!