semicolons are not only for formal essays and anyone who tells you otherwise wants to deprive you of the second most satisfying punctuation mark; do NOT believe them. i promise they get no bitches
A regular came in a few evenings ago. A young mom with her daughter who often comes in the morning. She also often treats the baristas badly, but that’s a different story.
She came in at an unusual time with her daughter on her hip. The little girl looked sick to me - puffy eyes and a red nose and a tight, unhappy pinch to her mouth.
The mom ordered her sweets. Sensing something was wrong, I tried to stay upbeat and to engage the little girl but neither mom or daughter were interested. I turned to collect their order.
“See? Daddy made you sad but mommy makes it better, right?”
My mouth soured and my hands paused in making their drinks. The revulsion was physical, a hollowing in my stomach that sounded like a vacuum in my ears. A ghostly hand settled against the back of my neck and stole the heat from my veins.
Im an adult now. The justifications came to mind a microsecond behind the horror and tried to overwhelm it. Mom is tired, mom just wants little girl to feel better, daddy also made mommy sad. Sometimes the big lessons are learned on other days, sometimes it’s okay to make the day better with sweets, sometimes you don’t have the strength to fight the battles you’re supposed to fight—
I handed out the pastry.
She said again, “Daddy made you cry and mommy made it better.”
The little girl looked into her pastry bag and didn’t look up.
No, i wanted to say. No, mommy didnt make it better. Mommy is part of the problem, mommy is saying your feelings are only worth a cake pop and a juice, mommy is siding with daddy who made you cry so hard that you look like a child left in the cold.
“Would you like a sticker?” I asked. She did and she took one and I took too much comfort in the fragile return of her smile before leaving the cafe.
I should have said more. I’m sorry you’re sad. I see that you’re sad. It matters that you’re sad.
Did I become part of this terrible lesson by joining in? Here’s a pastry, here’s a sticker, see? Didn’t we make it all better?
╰┈➤ “At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of." - Carrie Fisher
listen im ace and im pro kink at pride and whatever, but the way some of yall are wording your posts in response to the backlash against it is uh. really taking me back to the ace shitcourse era.
yall know theres nothing wrong with being a "virgin", right? that its not inherently shameful to have not had sex, to never have sex, even if youre not ace, even if you do want to have sex someday, like, its fine that you haven't had sex?
maybe if your problem is that theyre trying to police your behavior and shame you for expressing your sexuality, you can say that? instead of resorting to "haha stupid virgin gets no bitches" like my god. do you not hear how fucking regressive that attitude is? i know, i know, youre "joking".
being single in your late 20s & 30s is so fucking wild bc on one hand it's fun and flirty and you skip a lot of the bullshit because you know what you're looking for and you know how to spot a red flag from a mile away and you've learned to set boundaries and communicate your own and be upfront about your needs and most of the time they've learned it too - and if they haven't, you can tell after the second date that they haven't been to therapy
and every time you feel lonely and dried up and an ugly husk there's a whole community of other single people out there who are just as unhinged and want to hang out with you because they just need a plus-one like you do and you get introduced to like. people in their 60's and 70's and 80's who are all like - nope, single life is my choice and i love it and you feel warm and seen and like okay, it's not the end of the world if i'm not seeing anybody. and yeah it's hard and sometimes exhausting but part of getting better is that you do make like so many friends and do so much wild shit because you made a promise to yourself that you'll actually get out there and try shit and actually work on your hobbies and skills and friendships because to be honest in relationships you wouldn't push yourself this hard and it's actually been super rewarding because it came from you and from what you wanted
and yes of course the apps such and dating in general can suck but after one of the bad dates you go back to your apartment and call up those friends you made and make jokes about what the other person said and it rolls right off your back and you have plans for self-care in the morning. you prioritize yourself and your happiness and you really actually don't mind it, a lot of the time, unless it's like at a wedding and they're doing one of those couples-related things. most of the time it's not even a problem except when you can tell people pity you for it and you're like - i'm actually fine, babe, even without a partner i am still, like a person and yes of course it would be nice to have a partner but you have established yourself as a person and as an adult in a way that feels really hard-won and well-earned and you're protective of that and of the life you're living and honestly you're pretty happy, all things considered
and at the same time you do have to tell your father that you are single on purpose right now and that, yes, believe it or not, they're letting women be single past the age of 30 these days without burning us at the stake (can you imagine!) and you have to kind of sit pretty while people make jokes about how you're losing your marriageability and you're like, a little too old for the bars and the clubs and whatever but you do still want to go out dancing and it's like. the other day you went to a board game party and had the time of your life and then your mom calls you and says she's worried because what if you never find the one, shouldn't you be spending more time looking? and you're like - trying to balance this place where you're actually, like, perfectly okay? except you hear this thing over and over and over - oh no. that's so sad. i hope you find your lover. and you weren't really upset about it until someone suggested that you're running out of time and until someone said that it's so miserable that you live without someone to kiss and you're like why can't anyone believe that i'm genuinely happy. like. joy. like. bliss.
and then they look at you and they look at their partner and the look passes between them that says - poor thing. you're just lying to yourself about this.
YOU ARE SUPER COOL AND BIG BRAINED AND YOUR ART MAKES ME A LITTLE FERAL. thank you for feeding us and don’t forget to rest + drink water + and do something that makes you feel happy :))
Thank you! -- And cap, I'm actually very, indubitably, dumb.