An Introduction, Editing and Raspberry Toots
Run down of what you need to know about COP 27, latest COVID19 study and what I am tinkering away at.
My mom loves to tell me at least once a month that she doesn’t remember the 1980s. Birthing three girls in the span of a decade can be a bit all-encompassing. Plus, we all probably want to forget the crimped hair, acid-wash jeans and Ronald Reagan.
If you’re a new parent like me, you probably either lost track of our now ridiculously fast news cycle or doom scrolled while feeding the baby. I’ll be honest, the future is terrifying, but the present is a bit terrifying too.
I often find myself making mental checklists beyond a daily to do list:
prep this weeks dinner for the toddlers, how little do I have to chop the kale so they don’t notice it in their latkes?
clean the humidifier - maybe I should buy a self-cleaning one?
Read that new COVID-19 study that says our bodies are going to deteriorate exponentially - no, not that one, the other one.
Research heat pumps, because climate change.
Pull out more baby clothes after yet another growth spurt. Can the baby just wear a hemmed jumper that I keep unrolling?
What Christmas toys are non-toxic, age appropriate and not the price of a heat pump?
So I made this newsletter for parents like me. One’s that are full of anxiety for not only their children’s future, but their present too; with absolutely zero time to research or read anything.
Stories from pandemic parenting
Raspberry toots
I spend the majority of my days taking care of my three boys. Baxter and Jack are my two year old twins, and Amos is nine months. It’s hard not to include them in here somewhere, because, well, they are my full time job.
One weekend I got the wacky idea to blow some raspberries onto Baxter’s belly, something I used to constantly do to him for a cheap laugh - but it had been months since the last time. So, I was blowing raspberries into his belly, making some of the best fake fart sounds around, if I do say so myself. I dubbed them “raspberry toots”. Which, of course he got a kick out of.
After multiple, “Do it again, Mama”’s my lips needed a break. Baxter got up, with his signature dump truck in hand and made his way to his Dad who was making tea in the kitchen. Reader, he NEVER saw it coming. Baxter, in all his glory, stuck his face square between his father’s butt cheeks, and blew.
Surprise, Dad!
Jumping a mile, my husband burst into laughter, while Baxter turned to look at me, continuing to blow raspberries, with an air of pride.
Good one, kid.
What I am working on
A little bit about me, in case you’re interested.
For almost ten years, I have been working on my second feature-length documentary, Bea, and for the last four years the project has mostly been on pause while I supported my husband getting his graduate degree, and now while I am caring for our three kids. Since moving to the Green Mountain state, I have slowly started working on the edit. (my brain needed to get back to it).
Like most projects, what started out as a story about one thing, turned into another. At the outset I was fascinated with this little girl (who was the only person in the world with Rienhoff Syndrome) and her father, who through his expertise and tenacity, worked to get answers about her health and what it would mean.
As I spent time with Bea and her family, I came to know someone who was more comfortable in their own skin than anyone I had ever met. I can’t tell you exactly what the film is becoming because there is so much changing in the edit now, but I can tell you that she is inspiring and the process of telling an audience about her life is daunting.
Editing is ongoing, and if anyone is interested in being a test viewer once a second rough cut is in place, feel free to reach out.
News I am fixated on
The yearly COP-out
This year’s COP 27 is over, and I have to admit I haven’t done a deep dive. Mostly because what I have read so far has been a bit depressing.
The one bit of good news: there was a historic agreement to create a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable nations with climate disasters. You know, the nations that did little to create the crisis but are bearing the brunt of the disaster so far.
However, this quote from the Washington Post highlights a main flaw from the gathering:
“multiple world leaders, including the conference’s Egyptian hosts, used the event to promote their fossil fuel supplies and forge new energy agreements.”
Great, just what we need. A+.
Meanwhile, a study was released during COP showing that there are nine years left before catastrophic climate change. My twins will be 11, and my youngest ten years old. I shudder to think what that future will look like.
Reinfection risks
On November 10th, a study through the Department of Veterans Affairs was republished after peer review, stating that repeat infections of COVID-19 significantly increase one's risk of death, hospitalization, and severe disease - regardless of vaccination status.
Most mainstream media outlets picked up on the news, with Reuters pointing out both the likelihood of lung problems, heart conditions and neurological disorders increasing after a repeat infection.
It is worthwhile to note the pool of 40,000 reinfections from 440,000 people that had COVID, and over 5 million controls, that most of the subjects were male and not representative of the population at large. Combine this study with many others out there showing long term sequelae, and I’m still cool with avoiding infection as long as possible.
With the CDC MIA on masking mandates while pediatric units in hospitals overflow from RSV, Flu and COVID-19 (just google “pediatric hospitals” and select “news”) - I’d like to point y’all to a helpful resource that includes more accurate mapping of national COVID levels, The People’s CDC. Here is this week’s map:
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but this pandemic isn’t over - kids under five without a bivalent booster option will thank you, your immunocompromised friends will thank you and if you have already had COVID you just might thank yourself for wearing a mask and doing some smart risk assessment.
I recommend
Everyone should subscribe to Jessica Valenti’s Abortion, Every Day newsletter. Her rundowns during the week on the state of reproductive rights in America is eyeopening and I’ll admit, infuriating.
She runs through what’s happening in individual states and in the nation. Whether it be major wins for rights, like Vermont enshrining the right to abortion in the constitution or, as an example, concerning developments around leaked audio showing the future goal of regulating IVF - it is a solid way to stay on top of the constant attacks on reproductive freedom.
*Please subscribe, tell a friend, say hi in the comments. Thanks for reading!
Kori would love to be a test reader for Bea! Love and miss you!