Fierce Rawthorne

I feel mildly disrespected by the Christian high holy day.

Honestly, I did have a nice weekend. I got to hang out with my niece's kids (and my niece and my SIL), and when you actually get them talking, they are just cool little people who are becoming more themselves as they grow. They both had a lot of questions about their genetic lineage, which. Y'all. How I know THIS MUCH about people I'm related to by marriage when they themselves know almost zero is kind of boggling. Kiddo #5 was DEEPLY confused that they have Eastern European (Russian) ancestry. I very much cracked up when they yelled "But! I'm Russian Jewish, not RUSSIAN."

On a related note, I got to inform them that Christopher Columbus was a horrible person, and both Kiddo #5 and #6 asked their grandma (my SIL) to remind them to look up Christopher Columbus' journals when they turned 18. I also told them to watch the OSP video about the myth of El Dorado because they've got indigenous Mexican heritage, and fuck Spain.

We also all went out for Mexican food for dinner and peletas for afters. 12/10, Chicagoland Mexican food be doin' it, you know it's FR when they have fresh giardiniera on the table. ESPECIALLY w/the big bits of carrot and cauliflower. Also found out they opened a Tortilleria Atotonilco in comfy distance of mom's, which is my absolute favorite Chicago brand. El Milagro and Nueva Leon are wider loved, but Atotonilco always delivers fresh to my store (they are WARM when I get them!), so <3

As for Easter inconveniencing me, after brunch the crew headed home and I caught the Metra downtown. I was supposed to pick up a library book on Saturday, but PLANNING to leave my home at 8am and ACTUALLY leaving my home at 8am on a Saturday are two very different realities. I drove over when I got home on Sunday, but NOPE. INCONVENIENCED BY EASTER. I guess it makes sense as Chicago is like, CATHOLIC Catholic, but BOO. Luckily, the pet store is owned by heathens, so the girls got their food. I remain a little sad that pepper and egg sandwiches will be mildly harder to source, but whoo, bye, Lent.

Plus, I guess I get to go on an adventure tomorrow? The library branch I'm picking my book up at is just a bit further down the Metra line than my normal stop, and is open til 8 on Tuesday. There's also a bus back home, so there's tomorrow's adventure set.

Last, but not least, I have ordered the last of this year's Tax Refund Splurge. I ordered two CTA t-shirts. I am currently wearing the CPL life-long learning t-shirt. OH! And if any of y'all are interested in supporting the Chicago Public Library, they're having a sale right now! T-shirts are $14!

So, one of my nieces decided that she wanted to visit (with kiddos) for Easter this weekend. This is cool! Mom gets excited to see the kids!

Although, hilariously, we're both kinda on a :| vibe about the unexpected visit. I think we just wanted to go out for a breakfast buffet and maybe splurge on a mimosa. We had plans to do very little!

I also have to reschedule my acupuncture appointment. Generic plans are for me to drive them in to Lincoln Park Zoo as that's free and there's tons of stuff to climb on. If it rains, backup plans are the Adler. I'm also going to have to reschedule my laundry trip to tomorrow night, but hey! I get to see kiddos! Which I am honestly looking forward to.

I also promised Kiddo #6 pancakes FOREVER ago, and am going to make good for Sunday breakfast. I sent mom a shopping list, so I hopefully don't have to haul in buttermilk and maple syrup. But who knows! I have no expectations. Well. Other than they'll likely taste a bit like garlic, but that's the risk you run when you season a cast iron pan correctly.

I've been thinking a little more about how I just got randomly left with people when I was a tiny child. I mention this because none of my great nieces and nephews seem to have the same experience? Nor do any of my friends' kids. Like the best examples of this I can think of was when my mom was dealing with moving us from Texas to Chicago, she just kinda left me with my sister and her husband for two weeks? Mind, I'd been introduced to my sister ONCE prior to this, and then I ended up babysitting my 8-week old niece for most of the time because my sister and her husband worked. (I was 8.) Or the time I got left with my friend's parents (I was, like, 6? 7?) and their neighbor had to go pick something up in what my brain tells me was Texarkana but was more likely McCallen because no way in hell I was gone for the ~20 hour trip, but defo closer to 10 hours, and offered to bring me and my friend along. We went and spent most of the drive in the open bed of the pickup truck either asleep or playing some kind of random game. And everyone was just kind of like "Yeah, that sounds like a thing to do on a Sunday."

To be fair, this was Texas in, like, 1987, so.

Point being, there is not a SINGLE one of my extended family of niblings that will get into a car with me if one of their parents isn't involved. Including the one that I lived with for almost two months. On the one hand, horray for stranger danger instillation. On the other, huh. I am mildly impressed by parents respecting body autonomy? Also where the hell are these children getting their fucked up childhood stories? I don't think any of my niblings have ever played with a bucket of scorpions on accident and that is a small shame.

Honestly, I'm mildly surprised I made it into my 40's with only like, two major phobias.