dirt enthusiast
trying on a metaphor
tannertan36
Show & Tell
Andulka
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
No title available
Product Placement
almost home
NASA
Not today Justin
occasionally subtle
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Three Goblin Art
styofa doing anything
One Nice Bug Per Day
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Janaina Medeiros
JVL
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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@workinitmama
by Yrsa Daley-Ward. the expanded edition of ‘bone’ by Yrsa Daley-Ward with @penguinbooks will be available online and in bookstores on Tuesday, September 26th. 2017. PRE-ORDER NOW AVAILABLE. on Amazon US - http://bit.ly/PreOrderBone Amazon UK - http://bit.ly/PreOrderBoneUK and penguin.com.
Benediction
There is no sight
more holy
than
Southern Black Folk
on a Sunday afternoon.
Backs stooped
from generations of bearing the
Cross
of this
wait.
Chestnut mahogany ebony
skin
gleaming
melanin
anointed with the mark
of the Sun.
Hands
gnarled vines
Fingers
toughened by
thorns.
She
white shoes
white suit
white stockings
white hat
washes the blood
washes the Sin
washes me.
He
leads her to the promised land
the grocery store
because even
Manna
can be found in
Aisle 7.
They
living ancestors
from whom all blessings flow.
�
The process.
1275 North Union
Chatting with a creative friend, I intimated something only my soul knows. “I want to write a whole book of vignettes about my childhood called ‘1275 North Union.’” She said do it. So I think I will. This is the start.
Our Birth
You went into that room alone, and birthed us. Birthed two that would forever be one through tears, laughs and motherhood twice over.
When I cried, did you cry too? Did you cry out in love, in the promise of the future? Or in sadness, in loss of you, in the beginning of us?
There was no attachment parenting. No breastfeeding. No babywearing. Just a weary woman, exhausted from the newfound weight on her shoulders. A woman who turned to the nurses and said, keep her in the nursery, I need sleep.
But there was love. Oh, was there love. For a short time, my world was you and your world was me.
You went home. Your brothers carried you to that brick house on 1275 North Union. Your mother, in the spirit of the ancestors, bound you in tight cloths and bound me in tight cloths and bound us in tight cloths of family.
Did you know in that moment you birthed us?
You birthed us.
Big thighs and brown eyes.
what truly creates and maintains a bond
*note: i recently asked friends to provide me with short writing prompts. something i realize i miss is writing creatively, not just policy. so i’m going to try to write once a week or so. prompt will be the headline of the post. low pressure. so maybe prose, vignettes or really sappy crappy poetry. you’ve been warned.*
1 pound of heart split 2 cups loyalty ¼ cup patience 3 tablespoons passion 2 tablespoons compromise ½ teaspoon forgiveness Add a pinch of independence and a heaping of laughter
Mix well for endless nights and beautiful mornings. Stir in communication, sighs, cries and Pour into an ironclad mold. Sprinkle with shared dreams of a future.
Bake at 375 degrees for eternity or until a toothpick comes out covered in love.
The Beginning and The End
Wraps: Bijou Abstract Daybreak 8 and Bijou Blast Remix ?
Company: Bijou
Content: 100 percent cotton/ Eco2cotton and tencel
Wearer: A 4 year old, 39 lb. princess-sized pain
Base size: 8
Recently, I’ve been thinking about our babywearing “journey.” Journey makes it sound so dramatic, amirite? Especially when wearing Olivia was a method of just surviving every single day as a working mom.
As movements in the babywearing “world” (again pretentious) for members from marginalized backgrounds expose just how pervasive racism and other structural inequities are in something that is supposed to be so pure, I have been mulling tapping out. My daughter is four. Our ups are fewer. Bills need to be paid. I’m tired of yelling #youcannotignorethis. One wrap is a helluva lot of matte lipsticks.
And I’m just weary. Weary of calls to educate. Weary of folx seeking only to repudiate what I know and have experienced for their own comfort. Weary of being tagged in BWD for the next round of nonsense.
That started out way heavier than I intended. As Angelica Schuyler says, rewwwinnnnnnndddddd....
We are almost to the end of this phase of our life. And I’ve been reflecting on how much I’ve changed since the first time I put Olivia on my back years ago.
Enter Bijou.
What’s Bijou got to do with this? Not a lot. And everything.
Jaime Gassman, owner of Bijou, messaged me one night with an offer to try out Abstract Daybreak in an 8. AN EIGHT. My base size. I naturally said yes. It arrived in gorgeous coral pink and shiny gray. And that package was skinnnnnnnty like me back before I discovered tacos and only drank hard liquor. Yea right. No way I’m going to like this. Shoulda stuck to BrandNameILoveButWontName-o.
Then, two (or so) days later Bijou Blast Remix arrived from my dear friend Tracy Wu. I picked it up and said, “Woah. Now THIS I can be down with.” It was heavy heavy. Like your favorite double double cheeseburger with extra bacon and you wonder how you’re going to get your mouth around it heavy. Yea, thick is what Mama likes.
Look. There’s my butt. You’re welcome.
First up was Daybreak. We took it with us to Old Navy to buy Olivia a coat at nap time. Ultimate test for her patience with me and my patience with her father. We started with a standard double hammock, my go-to carry. And yall. It was glorious to tie in front with tails. GLORIOUS. #thisbodybabywears and we need a size 8 base. The entire time I wrapped, I was skeptical. More skeptical than I was of her dad at our first date where he didn’t pay for my Starbucks latte (I mean, it’s $4. SERIOUSLY?). But just like that date, I was wooed. I was surprised. And I was smitten by the time I tied off. No weight on my shoulders. No weight on my back. Just a spiderweb of wonders holding this overtired preschooler to my back.
Now I’m gonna be honest. I took her down after 30 minutes to try on coats and put her back up in a ruck tied with a knotless finish. It was not great. It was painful like going to get tacos only to hear they are all out of steak. Yes, I’m still bitter. Not the carry for my big kiddo and my picky shoulders. But this is my ultimate base size wrap right now.
Then was Blast. I don’t have any wearing photos as I broke my cell phone, but we wore this around the house to clean and for nap time. It’s thickness personified. It definitely wrapped short for me, but held a great half-knot with ease. Wrapping with it wasn’t as effortless, but there was no need to adjust or be careful. She went up and she stayed up. We bounced, swayed, cried and sighed. Blast was a rock. I think this would be a great option in a short size for a rock solid torso carry. Or a ruck tied at shoulder. Multiple-pass carries just weren’t happening for us in this.
Oh, that’s right. What does all this have to do with my babywearing career?
When I started wearing, I looked for wraps like Blast: thick, solid, sturdy, unmoving. When I was inexperienced and impatient, they held my daughter comfortably. Now toward the end, I look for wraps like Daybreak: thin yet strong, glidey, functional and not just aesthetically pleasing.
I have always been a brand loyalist. I have bought multiples of one company, sold them all to fund multiples from another and then sold all of those to buy multiples from another company. I’m a serial monogamist. I will make a relationship out of dust and a piece of twine. But you can choose. You can love one brand and another and even a third. Your cred as a wrapper or wearer doesn’t diminish because you love Bijou and three other brands plus own a Kinderpack. And it doesn’t diminish because you have your One Wrap, the only one you own. YOU make the carrier, not the other way around. YOU make this community. Swim against the tide or explore a new stream altogether.
My advice would be: embrace the change. Try the wrap you never thought you would. Challenge yourself to try a wrap quality you are iffy about. And at the end of it all, remember: our differences are what make this community better. It’s what makes it worth the journey.
Oh, and here come more pictures.
#RealLifeReview: A Tale of Trillium
Pavo Trillium Strawberry Shortcake
100 percent cotton
390 gsm
Made in the USA
When I began my babywearing journey with Pavo Textiles, I said the thicker, the better. My instant go-to was Farrand: thick, beastly, soapy goodness. Farrand had my heart when many detested it.
Then I was introduced to Sparkleberry. I swooned. It had the similar thick goodness of Farrand in my favorite color: vibrant yellow. It’s sponginess made a torso carry in a 6 worth every inch of tail.
When Trillium was released and folx compared it to a friendlier Sparkles, I scoffed. Sparkles didn’t have to be friendly, because it was our best friend. Thinner? Pshaw. Not interested.
Oh, but I was wrong. Trillium, which was released in size 6 and sold in size 3 at trunk shows, helped bring many of the qualities I loved together as a growing wrap conisseur. Trillium is heavy: 3 pounds and 4 ounces when I mailed it home. But it’s comfort food heavy, like a wonderful chicken pot pie or pot roast when you’re halfway done with your plate. It warms you up inside without making you feel gross and like you overate. Did I mention it’s stretchy? I remember stretching my gum and cornstarch goo until it was close to the breaking point. It stretches wonderfully without getting saggy. It combines the glide of a thinner wrap with the heft of a beast.
And can you see all those pleats? If you know me, I am a sloppy wrapper. I am not tightening strand by strand when my preschooler is flailing and thrashing in the grocery store parking lot. But it brings comfort and competency in one wrap.
Trillium’s price point was hard for me to meet as a working mother with hella bills. It was more attainable than the MV on Sparkleberry. But with recent market shifts (yes, I know selling sucks right now), it’s more attainable for those of us with a limited budget.You may see a great deal on Trillium and it will be higher than other budget Pavos, but trust me: it’s worth the leap.
I'm drowning. But I don't know if I want a life preserver.
self
Princesses. #momlife #oliviaelsa
When I began my babywearing journey, I rarely, if ever saw parents of color featured in any company’s marketing material. I remember the moment I saw the preview for Cheetah Jade and the stunning mom and baby who modeled the wrap. I was brought to tears. She looked like me. They looked like us. I was already a fan of the brand and what they stood for but in that moment, I fell madly, deeply in love with Pavo. Happy anniversary to the company who gave me a sense of belonging. Wishing you many, many more.
- Novia Chang Follow @lillychang1
This is why I Pavo.
this is soooo helpful/amazing
Saving this for our students.
#RealLifeReview
Trinity Phlox 7
Wrappee: 3.5 years old, 40 pounds
Content: 100 percent cotton
When I opened the tote containing this wrap, I gasped and was instantly smitten. Green is a color we are not drawn to, but this wrap, with its color of fresh green grass after a summer storm and Princess Tiana's wedding dress, captured our hearts instantly. I never knew how lovely green could be until I met Phlox. Phlox is incredibly see-through. I thought I put a hole in it trying to pull it from the wash, but it was just the weave structure. Hold it to the light, and sunshine streams through. We did experience minor thread shifting, but that was easily remedied with a wash and tumble. I once called a dense wrap thin. I never knew what thin was until I met Phlox. That's not to say it is weak. It is like a spider's web in both it's intricacy, delicacy and strength. With the proper (OK, close to proper) technique, even a preschooler feels like air. Yes. I am serious. That is not typical gushing or hyperbole. It has its not-so-shining carries for us. At her weight and with my weak shoulders, I was not a fan of single-layer carries. The sloppy ruck may have been strangle-proof, but my shoulders ached after a grocery store run. But... double hammock. Oh, dear sweet double hammock. Wearing for a quick up for 20 minutes, I almost forgot she was there -- save the screeching to watch Zootopia for the 11th time in as many hours.I thought with only beastly thick wraps could I find the right comfort for us and be comfy enough on my spaghetti shoulders. I never knew what supportive was until I met Phlox. Wrapping with Phlox is like your daily drive to your favorite taco place or to the grocery store: you don't have to think about it. You get in the car, you turn on the ignition and suddenly you're there. With a double hammock, I felt like I finally could get passes tight enough to make it serviceable. It stretches across OliviaElsa's thrashing back with ease, and locks tight like burrs against your favorite leggings. I never knew what glide and microtexture was until I met Phlox. This wrap is everything I could have hoped for, aside from cooler temps, and is the antithesis of everything I associate with thin, airy and even Pavo. I never knew what wrapping could be... until I met Phlox.
Real-world wrapping. #selfie #momlife #momselfie #oliviaelsa #heypavo #pavotee #pavoteesofcolor
#blessed
