the child

on blowing more bubbles and celebrating the wins

Michael Bubble,* 2023. Digital colored pencil.

This year, I want to nurture the supremely weird little kid inside me. That means playing and dancing. Drawing pictures. Making messes and making mistakes. Seeing where happiness takes me. Creating out of curiosity and delight, not obligation or fear. It means beginner mind. Blowing bubbles. Gigantic hoodies. Clouds and ghosts and piles of pillows. Rainbows and overalls. Stickers and balloons. Glitter on everything. Talking to birds, bugs, and trees. Stopping to examine that cool thing I found on the sidewalk.

A perfect card for this year from The Spacious Tarot, one of my favorite decks

Nurturing the soft baby animal inside me also means pitching a fit, when pitching a fit is called for. Howling. Refusing. Sharpening my claws.

And delegating. Asking for help.

Doing, and seeing, and being, magic. 

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✨things i’ve written✨

Fang, 2022. Digital colored pencil and watercolor.

• My lyric essay “Bat Facts” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Statistically speaking, this is not a huge deal; more than 10,000 (!) pieces are nominated every year. But personally speaking, it means a lot, as this essay is very dear to my heart. Knowing that other people feel the warmth of this dark, fanged, and furry thing—well. It makes me proud. Many thanks to former Pushcart winner Jennifer Lunden for the nomination.

• This month at The Last Word on Nothing, I interviewed my friend Madeline Ostrander about her phenomenal new book At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth.

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✨writing/drawing/dancing prompt✨

Two (2) ghosts.

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Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Do you have a word of the year, or some other hope, dream, or intention for your 2023? Leave a comment or reply to this message. I’d love to cheer you on.

*Many thanks to Tye for the brilliant title.