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Here’s a Gen Z teen who found a real phone and does not know how to use it.
My house flooded. Busted this guy double-fisting a beer and a @thunderkingcoffee this morning before 10am while we were ripping out drywall and I can’t say I blame him.
“Parents are not okay.” It’s a refrain I’ve been hearing so much in the last few months, and I can relate. This season has created so many challenges for parents, from distance learning to isolation to helping our kids deal with their disappointments and losses. I’m going to be creating a support group for parents on facebook. It will be a safe spot to talk, vent, and seek help. We will be doing several facebook lives where we can chat openly about what we are dealing with.
Admission is free with the purchase of my book, which has a new chapter on parenting in a pandemic that we will discuss as well. If you haven’t purchased it yet, you can do so here: https://www.kristenhowerton.com/order. If you’ve snagged the book, sign up for the support group here: https://www.kristenhowerton.com/pandemic-parenting-support
Official #manpurse
I’m not a Trump fan and I haven’t been quiet about that. But today, I wanted to talk about my own faith, and how my faith is compelling me to vote for Joe Biden this year.
I have been a Christian my whole life. For a good portion of my life, I believed that voting Republican was a mandate of Christian faith. I went to a bible college where there was ONE guy who was a democrat, and people warned you about him in scandalized whispers, like they were warning you about a child molester. I voted for ALL THE BUSHES. I went to pro-life rallies. I volunteered at crisis pregnancy centers with the aim of talking women out of abortions.
One of the things that I learned in my time counseling women in unwanted pregnancies: no one wants an abortion. Sure, women may be grateful that it is a choice available to them. But nobody intentionally gets pregnant so that they can sign up for an invasive and uncomfortable medical procedure. As I got to know these women more, the solution (that should have been obvious to me before) was clear. The way to reduce abortions is to make sure women have access to birth control. The way to reduce abortions is to reduce unwanted pregnancies. Shaming women who seek an abortion, or making it illegal, is coming to a problem from the wrong angle. And here’s the wild thing: everyone wants to reduce abortions. I know it’s easy to characterize people who are pro-choice as pro-abortion but it’s simply not true. Most pro-choice politicians, including Biden and Harris, want to reduce unwanted pregnancies, not increase abortions. There is also plenty of data that indicates that abortion rates go down in democratic presidencies, because of the services afforded to PREVENT abortions instead of litigating abortion.
I’ve also come to believe that pro-life should encompass much more than abortion. Being pro-life, for me, looks like providing access to medical care and making sure people have insurance. Right now, Trump is fighting to repeal the Affordable Care Act which will strip so many people of their medical insurance (myself included, as someone who has a pre-existing condition.) (continue in comments) #thisiswhy2020
Happy birthday to these two! I never imagined that half of their first year as teenagers would be spent hunkered down with their family. These two weathered some incredible disappointments this year . . . India was rehearsing to be in a play at South Coast Rep that was canceled. Kembe had his entire soccer season canceled. Both of these social butterflies spent their summers distanced from friends. But I am so inspired by the way both of them have handled themselves. They’ve kept things in perspective, they’ve found new ways to connect with friends, and they’ve been awesome rays of sunshine for the whole family. (Both of them have truly kept me sane in this season with their hilarity and hijinks.)
And I don’t even know what to say about the height difference between two kids born on the same day. As India used to say, “I think people will know we aren’t really twins because we aren’t the same height.” Yep. That’s the giveaway.
Photo #1 by the amazing @stevecowell_photo (who is doing mini-sessions in OC for a great price right now!)
This girl has a birthday tomorrow and wanted a new ‘do for a new year. I think she already looks so much older! Also feeling good that I did not completely butcher this cut as I don’t know what I’m doing. But isn’t that the theme for 2020?
Had to get a shot of our sisterwife-length quarantine hair before one of us does a big chop. 😉
