Sivori
@sivori
Purveyor of half-baked ideas. Father of four. Internet coworker.
Me painstakingly explaining all my various projects and enthusiasms to my wife. Her, humoring me and barely feigning interest: “Wow. Oh? Wow.”
Saw an old woman walking her dog. She was hunched over with osteoporosis and a walker. But she had her workout clothes on and was out walking the dog. That’s more than some able-bodied people did today. Respect.
The God for whom suffering, destruction and beauty are not separate. The God for whom all things are united.
Made the mistake of making eye contact with one of the mice living under my kitchen island when it was out scavenging for crumbs What kind of sick God makes a destructive pest so ridiculously cute
There’s a similar thing for fathers. For me, having children lessened the burden of my ego. It gave me something to love more than myself. This selfishness is a drag.
I feel like a different person after having my baby and nobody talks about this enough. My brain functions different, I see myself differently, everything in me is rewired because of my new identity as a mother. Everything about me before feels wiped away
My superpower/weakness (because a superpower is often also a weakness) is that I am calm when other people are upset and overwhelmed. I worked for this polish guy who once asked me in exasperation, “Are you a fucking duck? Serene on the surface but paddling like mad!”
It’s more difficult because we become more guarded. We have also been hurt more and our life experiences become more real than literature. When we are young, everything is new and we are impressionable. But as we get older we have real experiences and literature must resonate…
i don’t want to re-read the book that knocked me over in precisely the way i needed at age 25 i want the book that is capable of doing that to me now at 35
My four year old, like many four year olds, is constantly drawing. People don’t realize how serious children are in their play. Play is the child’s work.
Spent some time with a family member whose house is crammed with books and it is such a vibe. I hereby commit to book maxxing.
Reading about James Sheppard who was hanged, drawn and quartered for treason in 1717, merely for imagining some alternative to the Georgian regime. We sometimes lament our current “soft on crime” tendencies but we are infinitely more humane now.
There are people who read a ton but who do not incorporate what they learn. They don’t allow themselves the communion that reading offers.
I became more patriotic after arguing with two smug Dutchmen in a bar. Amazing how you feel when people badmouth your country.
A take: The more you travel, the less politically extreme you become.