I'm tryna make sure I'm ready for the interview...

I'm tryna make sure I'm ready for the interview I have coming up, but Balthazar needs some snuggles, I guess.

"Let me just squeeeeze in. You won't even notice I'm here." 😂😂😂

Hard Agree

I think it's culturally time for us to re-frame how we think about the uterus.

It's not a nurturing organ—it doesn't need to be. A fetus is frighteningly good at getting the resources it needs to nurture itself. If they are implanted anywhere other than the womb (most often the fallopian tube, but also sometimes the bladder, intestine, pelvic muscles and connective tissue, and the liver) placental cells will rip through a body, slaughtering everything in their path as they seek out arteries to slake their hunger for nutrients.

Fetal cells will happily grow in any of these places, digesting and puncturing tissue, paralyzing and enlarging arteries, raising blood pressure to feed itself more, faster; but it will be unable to be ejected. It's no coincidence that genes involved in embryonic development have been implicated in how cancer spreads.

Rather than a soft cozy nest, a womb is a fortress designed to protect the person from the developing cells inside them.

Because of our huge and (metabolically speaking) expensive brains, human fetal development requires unrestricted access to a parent's blood supply, which makes pregnancy (and miscarriage) incredibly dangerous for the carrier. The uterus has evolved to control and restrict whether placental cells can get that access, and to eject it before it develops enough to kill the host. THE FUNCTION OF THE WOMB IS TO PROTECT THE PARENT'S LIFE. The very structure of the womb very firmly prioritizes the life of the parent over the life of the fetus.

Even with modern medical care, at least 800 people die EVERY DAY from pregnancy (and childbirth-related causes). Among developed countries, the United States has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and Texas has one of the highest rates within that. The rate is even higher when viewed among BIPOC only.

Pregnancy may be necessary for the continuation of the species, but it is not a joke. It is a life-threatening event, a parasitic attack on a human body; just one we have romanticized and been desensitized to.

The "miracle" of birth is that we have a protective organ designed to, if all goes well, let us survive it. It doesn't always go well. It is life or death. Someone who chooses to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and carry a fetus to delivery is legitimately choosing to risk their life to do it. Nobody else has the right to make anyone do that, and nobody should be punished or vilified for not wanting to do it. Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy, ANY pregnancy, is attempted murder.

—Anonymous via UniteWomen.org

Cubba's not having a great time with the fireworks.

Cubba's not having a great time with the fireworks. Doesn't help that Balthazar is snuggling him and Bastian keeps giving him a dirty look for being too close. 😂

Cubba handles the fireworks...

Cubba handles the fireworks better than my pack ever did, but I still run the group, still spend the holiday glued to Facebook for timely post approval, and my words from before are still true.  Well, except that we've more than doubled in members since 2016.

PLEASE take care of the innocents in your charge, today, tomorrow, and always.  ❤

Me and the kid are in the floor with a shaking, cowering pile of dogs.  I'm on Facebook, rapidly approving lost and found posts in Happy Tails Lost & Found Pets of Calhoun County.  This is how we spend Fourth of July. 

If you have pets and haven't yet secured them and assured their safety, please do it now if they haven't run away in terror.  If you can't find them, post them ASAP.  We have just shy of 5000 members in the local area, so maybe your fur-child can be found before it's run over by a car.  Don't mean to be a damper on everyone's party, but seriously - take care of the innocents in your charge, this evening and always.  Thank you.

Oh, I miss Math so much!

Oh, I miss Math so much! This is an interesting problem!

I've felt very grateful this week for where we are.

I've felt very grateful this week for where we are. I went with a friend to the tea shop and it was such a lovely visit. I am so happy for all of the nice things around us - even (maybe especially) those we've yet to discover.

Coming from a small town to a place that has things I'm interested in feels amazing. I am really enjoying getting to know our new hometown and there is so much we haven't even seen yet. I'm just soaking it all in.

Yesterday me, Kira, and Kalien went to a neat little Boba and Ramen shop. The food and drinks were so good and the place was decorated adorably. I don't even know where I'm going with this. I'm just happy. This is just a rambly appreciation post, I guess.

Right now I'm trying this house tea blend from the New Mexico Tea Company. I've never had a smoked tea before, but it's interesting (in a good way). I like it.

Also, there is this:

Gov. Lujan Grisham takes action to safeguard abortion access, protect New Mexico health care providers

I feel so cared-for here. I feel safer than I ever have. I'm so grateful every day that we made it out of Alabama.

I had the skate park to myself again this morning.

I had the skate park to myself again this morning. It was nice - a new park this time. The half pipe was super-smooth. The regular pavement was less great, but still fun. I only wish I'd gone earlier.