love is real

i'll show you the way; just walk beside the low stream until it fades

[awkwardsituationist]

high tide and low tide in great britain. photographs by michael marten

[motherfucker-somewhat-limited]

[atthehedge]

i'm feeling really proud of myself because today i confronted my mom on dismissing and insulting me and when she did the whole shitty "i'm sorry you took it that way" i immediately responded with "that is NOT an apology, you're saying i'm feeling the wrong way about this" and she tried all her tricks but i absolutely was not having it. AND! the best part is that 10 years ago this would have destroyed me! and i'm feeling totally fine baybeeee

[goth-queen]

[atthehedge]

parenting has me alternating between two stances when it comes to my baby's more challenging traits/behaviours: 1. this is annoying the fuck out of me and i am taking deep breaths to get through this moment; 2. this is teaching me how to love both him and myself better and i would never have experienced this specific moment of love without this trait/behaviour

[atthehedge]

one year in and i am pretty sure my baby and i have the exact same temperament, which has been eye opening because i can see what i must have needed when i was his age and i have a good sense that my caregivers were incapable of meeting those needs and i can guess how that impacted me. for example, my baby has difficulty falling asleep and it can take a long time to help him settle. he has always had really high proximity needs around sleep - it's only recently that i can leave his side without him waking up. so, he needs a LOT of closeness and co-regulation to get to sleep.

my mom labelled me as a "difficult" baby and stuck me in a crib and let me cry it out and i've been an insomniac my entire life. i don't think it's unrelated.

[atthehedge]

anyway the point is: tonight bedtime was dragging on and on. did the bathtime, lotion, pajamas, nursing routine. read him books, sang him songs, stood up and rocked him, sat down and held him, until finally he wanted to lie down on the mattress, he tossed and turned, then he snuggled up to me sooo sweetly, head smushed into my neck, body on my arm, and fell asleep. and i think that actually i have never felt that much love for someone before.

[atthehedge]

parenting has me alternating between two stances when it comes to my baby's more challenging traits/behaviours: 1. this is annoying the fuck out of me and i am taking deep breaths to get through this moment; 2. this is teaching me how to love both him and myself better and i would never have experienced this specific moment of love without this trait/behaviour

[atthehedge]

one year in and i am pretty sure my baby and i have the exact same temperament, which has been eye opening because i can see what i must have needed when i was his age and i have a good sense that my caregivers were incapable of meeting those needs and i can guess how that impacted me. for example, my baby has difficulty falling asleep and it can take a long time to help him settle. he has always had really high proximity needs around sleep - it's only recently that i can leave his side without him waking up. so, he needs a LOT of closeness and co-regulation to get to sleep.

my mom labelled me as a "difficult" baby and stuck me in a crib and let me cry it out and i've been an insomniac my entire life. i don't think it's unrelated.

[atthehedge]

parenting has me alternating between two stances when it comes to my baby's more challenging traits/behaviours: 1. this is annoying the fuck out of me and i am taking deep breaths to get through this moment; 2. this is teaching me how to love both him and myself better and i would never have experienced this specific moment of love without this trait/behaviour

[atthehedge]

we have a children's book about local wildlife that's in french. i was showing my dad one of the pictures because i wasn't sure what the english translation was - i asked, "is this a partridge, or a grouse?"

"people call it both. i call it a partridge," he said. "why, what is it in french?"

"une gélinotte"

"A JELLY NUT????"

[atthehedge]

every time i set a boundary with my mom she gets sick. it's insane

[atthehedge]

i am apparently waging powerful psychic warfare on my mother simply by existing as a separate and distinct individual

[atthehedge]

every time i set a boundary with my mom she gets sick. it's insane

[lalulutres]

I love this picture so much! Post it whenever I come across it.

[dewitty1]

Inner Mongolian Child

The little girl’s name is Butedmaa and she was just 5 when this picture was taken in 2003 by Han Chengli.

(I used to have a printout of this at my desk at work because I just loved looking at it so much.)

[gremlininho]

then & now ♡

[catchymemes]

[knightsickness]

love this image bc what did the princess do to make the crowd shout and throw tomatoes at her. i know it wasnt nothing

[atthehedge]

exactly a year ago at this time i was exhilarated and exhausted and bleeding and cuddling my poop- and blood-crusted baby at the birthing centre. my friend who came for the 8pm-12am "shift" was there explaining how to breastfeed and giving me the most hands-on no-nonsense tutorial possible

[atthehedge]

i was wrangling baby to get him dressed for the park and i asked my mom to grab his blue boots from the hallway. and so from the hallway she responded, "is it blue or is it a boot?" and i was like "the only boots he has" and she came back carrying. brown shoe.

[fruitsoftheape100]

How To Get So Sopping Wet In One Easy Step