Moody Autumn, Overcoming Self-Doubt, Parenting Love
And that time I moved across the country without even visiting first. Love, Darcy
Newsletter #2 Comin’ Atcha
So many people have signed up for this newsletter! Thank you! xoxoxoxo
Meanwhile, I’m following a lot of other writers’ newsletters. I was shocked to learn how many writers put out an email newsletter every single day. Every. Single. Day.
Meanwhile, I’m aiming for once a week. Sound good?
Here’s my debut for Itxy Lopez’s Medium publication The Brave Writer, a feel-good piece about writerly self-doubt, and why it took me so long to start this here newsletter.
Moody Autumn
This week I’m really feeling the change in seasons. Some of this is good—tossing red maple leaves like confetti with Tzivia outside her school. But mostly, I just want to curl up in my electric blanket and watch The Great British Bake Off. And write. And read. And cry.
Writer Andrew Knott is so good at making parenting funny, but he also rocks the more serious stuff. Case in point: “Parenting Slumps Can Be Spooky”, which captures so much of what I’m feeling this week.
My Kid is Amazing!
Tzivia’s always shined in the empathy department, which prompted me to write this piece last fall questioning whether we have the power to help kids develop empathy younger, if we start speaking the language of empathy from the very beginning.
She’s still wowing me with her empathy. Last month, she started kindergarten and her teacher chose her as the first Star of the Week. Then her teacher quit doing Star of the Week, so my kid’s the only one who got to experience the honor. This picture above was her idea, to write a letter to her teacher—yes, this is a drawing of her teacher—requesting more Stars of the Week, because she wants other kids to feel the excitement and pride that she felt. *Swoon*
Speaking of Swooning Over My Kid…
Here’s the essay I submitted to the Washington Post’s On Parenting section. Thankfully, their rejection came quickly, so I’ve already taken it in stride and published the piece in P. S. I Love You. In this essay, I get into some pretty personal stuff about my own mental health troubles right after my daughter was born, and I explore whether or not it’s okay for us to feel our own kid is the most special little angel everrrrrrr.
One of the Most Impulsive Things I’ve Done
I love the sun, so each year when the weather turns cold, I question why exactly I left Florida for the PNW all those years ago. Here’s my essay about the time I bought a $99 plane ticket to a place I’d never been and started a whole new life.
Bonus: We get to escape every winter to friends and family in Florida. We’re going for two weeks in December!
I’m Obsessed With This Piece in Human Parts
From It's All Process, a philosophical comic by Danielle Morgan.
Human Parts is a Medium-run publication. Most Medium writers dream of getting published there—I certainly did. Here’s a link to the 4 essays I’ve published in Human Parts so far!
Friends links for my Medium pieces referenced in this newsletter:
*When You Write, You Give Me Permission to Share My Story Too
*I Moved Across the Country and Never Looked Back
*Do Kids Have Empathy?
*Is It Wrong to Love My Kid More Than Yours?
*Human Parts: 1 2 3 4
I seriously appreciate all your reads, claps, highlights, comments, and shares. If you enjoyed one of these Medium essays, please share it on Facebook or Twitter!
And if there’s something you’d like to see more of in my newsletter, please let me know. Thanks!
Love,
Darcy