How to Come Out (To the Jasmine First)

And I may never get over it — because I care — My mom, who had been an amazing elementary and junior high teacher for decades, had always joked to me (repeating what she’d been taught): “Teachers are just frustrated actors with a captive audience.” When I first decided to become a teacher, I asked my mom how in the world I…

Along with the doctor’s immediate response and hope for better — A few weeks ago, I scheduled an appointment for my teen with a new doctor to seek treatment for their migraines. The visit was uncomfortable, because the medical staff did not use my child’s correct pronouns, despite the fact that the office advertises as providing “Gender-Affirming Care.” My kiddo really…

Or, How to Have a Successful Day of Solitude — When I was 16, my best friend and I had a monumental argument that lasted for about four months. (To alleviate any concerns, we did make up and while I am writing this forty years later, we are still the best of friends.) During those four months, I had to…

A poem comprised of notes from my phone during March, April, and May in L.A. — (Early March) They say we are languishing, which is to say we are at the edges — hushed inside the liminal — the poinsettia bloom here in the basin, half day, half night, in March. My student says that she is grateful to just be alive. The others agree: yes, just…

With a whole-hearted attempt at compassion and openness (I hope!) — A few months after learning that my child, who is nonbinary, uses they/them pronouns, I have been meditating on what the process has been like for me to adjust my language after fifteen years (plus the in utero portion) of referring to them with different pronouns. First: I need to…

Bringing Back the Wild to a Domesticated World — The Major Arcana: The Emperor 4 🦎 in order to re-wild, the emperor of the domesticated world /must/ struggle — against his history, against his past, against his associates, against the human-systems he both inherited and perpetuated, unknowingly at first, and now with growing awareness to the harm caused both to himself and to his community, whether…

Writing Goals, Seeds, & the Harvest — Thanks to Ellie Jacobson for the invitation to reflect on my writing goals: What Is Your Focus During the Month of May? Writing, personal, fitness, family, and everything in betweenmedium.com Over the past six years, I’ve come to observe my writing as akin to that of my work in the garden. I must preface, before I continue any further, with the truth: I am a mediocre gardener, at best.

I finally got the toolset of my dreams — When I was six years old, I asked Santa to bring me two big things from the Toys ‘R Us catalogue: the curly haired doll with full matching wardrobe that folded into a carrying case and the plastic toolset with pretend hammer, drill, and saw. Santa brought me the doll. …