Week 45 (2021)
nice places & half-written friendships, child allowances & extended family, employer red flags, moral orthodoxy & valuing the work of our hands
(Open in your browser — emails cut off at the end!)
to read: essays, articles
Our Self-Imposed Scarcity Of Nice Places — Daniel Herriges, Strong Towns — “Places like this are expensive because places like this are scarce, and scarce things almost always become expensive.”
Taking Care — Gracy Olmstead, Granola — “We also have to revalue the embodied, immanent aspects of human life… If we structure our economy and culture around ideas that disdain or devalue those forms of labor, seeing them as degrading, or as distractions from “real” work or “real” living, for instance, we incentivize a dangerous apathy toward the needs of society’s most vulnerable humans—as well as toward our own holistic wellbeing.”
Half-Written Friendships — J.D. Wills, Fathom — “Because the other part about great friendships is that they don’t always work the way you think they should. Sometimes suggesting a late-night cocktail with the friend that goes to bed at eight p.m. ends up being the best idea you’ve ever had. And sometimes your best friends feel like absolute strangers.”
Marriage As Moral Orthodoxy — Matthew Lee Anderson, Mere Orthodoxy — ”To be sure, ‘orthodoxy’ signifies centrality: all manner of doctrinal positions might be correct (or incorrect), without themselves rising to the level at which we would want to invoke such a freighted term.”
That's A Big, Poorly Camouflaged Red Flag — Anne Helen Petersen, Culture Study — “When an employer limits applicants or employees by their ability to have a separate, noise-isolated space in which they will never be asked to serve, even for a brief amount of time, as a caregiver, they are communicating the sort of culture they would like to cultivate at the organization: a culture where employees do not have lives, are largely shielded from familial responsibilities, and already have enough capital to have isolated spaces all their own.” (related)
It's Not Just Parents Who Benefit from Child Allowances — Leah Libresco Sargeant, Other Feminisms — “Sometimes the pitch for a child allowance is an appeal to a universal fairness—everyone benefits, whether or not you have a child, because everyone once was a child. And I think that’s a fair pitch.
But everyone benefits as a grown-up, because children are leaven for a community. Their naked need and forthrightness creates ties (familial and otherwise) that we grown-ups would neglect.”
to read: books
Many Waters, Madeleine L'Engle — audio — The concludes the last of the series which I slowly my way through this year, for the second time. (I did the same re-read with Marilynne Robinson’s novels.)
to watch
Reimagining Faith and Public Life: Gender, Politics, and Religion — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Matthew Lee Anderson — I usually enjoy listening to, rather than reading, Matthew Lee Anderson’s ethical reasonings (though I did link a piece of his above). This was a thoughtful & surprisingly enjoyable conversation. Many of you have probably read Du Mez’s book, too. I always enjoy hearing writers converse in their own voices.
to listen: music
Other Side (B) — Zach Winters — “Side A is a bit more hushed and brooding—early morning & the night—and Side B opens up more, and is made of afternoons and sweetness of evening.”
Faith Of My Father — Steffany Gretzinger — Her last album has been a favorite over the past year, with poignant and fond memories of worship. Here she is chatting about this latest release.
to listen: audio
What It’s Like To Live The Dream Of Owning A Bookshop With Alison Frenzel — Fountains Of Carrots — Always up for listening to a Haley Stewart chat, one of my favorite Catholics on the internet.
to cook
Cranberry Bread — I made so many adjustments, it’s hard to even share this recipe… but there it is. It turned out amazing, and large.
At least doubled the fresh cranberries. Substitued some eggnog for milk. Substituted some maple syrup for sugar. Used lime juice to make the buttermilk. Turned down to 300 part-way through because it was such a large loaf… and I didn’t want Paul Hollywood’s voice telling me “it’s raw”.
to remember, reflect
A Year Ago...
At 10 and a half months, the kid may have reached peak cuteness. Also, walks to the neighborhood beach to see the Long Island Sound.
This Week...
A quickly crawling baby & a visit from grandparents. A visit to Milwaukee for the baby’s specialist appointments. Father/son grilling time, haircut time, Joe Pera Talks With You time. Mead from Minnesota. The art of making new friends. The arrival of our pre-ordered book. Continual laughter at the towel Jakob brought into our marriage, and wraps our dripping-wet sons in. Reading too many books too slowly, but grateful for their goodness and wisdom nonetheless.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10