make-believe: fancy-free.

July 2, 2020

Yesterday was my thirty-sixth birthday, which was the perfect time to daydream about a quiet evening spent fancy-free in a city garden. The soundtrack would be all spinning sprinklers and clinking flatware and laughter ringing over chainlink fences. There’d be sleeping kids just inside a screen door, and a sweating glass of chilled wine, and the deep peace of mind that comes with finishing a day of work and kissing babies goodnight and settling into a few precious hours of quiet before needing to start over again. Plus:

A watering can for putzing around the garden offering drinks to the plants.

Marigold slides for kicking off beneath the table.

Bright blue lapis plates for cheer (plus a good cause).

Sunshine-y napkins for catching drips.

A brand new book to read uninterrupted.

Body oil for an evening glow.

A white dress with nary a grimy handprint to mar it.

Solar powered string lights for ambience.

Blue glass candleholders for even more.

Mother of pearl for catching the light.

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TAKE ACTION:

In an effort to ground this make-believing in something a bit more down to earth:

+ Contact Congress and tell them that they need to pass The Child Care Is Essential Act to provide grant funding to child care providers in an effort to stabilize the child care sector and support providers so they can safely reopen and operate. (Here’s a good primer on why this is so desperately needed.)

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5 Comments

  • Reply Carol July 2, 2020 at 1:29 pm

    A white dress with no grimy handprints! Dreamer!

    Once they outgrow dirtying the dress, they’ll want to wear it to a party.

    1
  • Reply Anna July 2, 2020 at 3:34 pm

    Happy birthday Erin! This sound lovely!

    0
  • Reply Claire July 2, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    Happy belated birthday, Erin!

    1
  • Reply Laura July 3, 2020 at 10:47 am

    Oh, I love this! The thought of wearing a pure white, floaty dress WITHOUT hand prints while quietly wandering through a city garden is so escapist and fantastical… I just want to get lost in this day dream for a while. Sigh!

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  • Reply Mags July 3, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    Thank you for highlighting the Child Care is Essential Act. I just wrote my congress people. Women’s work should not be ignored and too often we are told that “we shouldn’t have had kids if we couldn’t afford them.” I could afford my children (though of course there are a myriad of reasons someone might have children they can’t afford), but not if I cannot work and I cannot work before, after, or during this pandemic if it wasn’t for childcare. Please, everyone, this is important!

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