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Cake day: January 31st, 2025

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  • I had the fortunate experience of growing up with great-grandparents living, as well as some of their siblings. I got to hear first-hand experiences from 3 generations of women (mother, grandmothers, and two great-grandmothers plus various aunts sprinkled in). It was invaluable for me. Knowing their life stories and the truth of what they endured has helped me navigate life in so many ways.

    It also has been incredible armor against the flood of misplaced nostalgia and outright manipulation of history that seems so prevelant. My great-grandmother was born in 1908 and died in 2002. She left her abusive husband in the 1930s and raised her kids as a single mom in a time when it was exponentially more difficult to do so. Glad she got out when she did with 4 instead of 14…



  • I have strong reactions to cold. My hands and feet won’t warm back up and begin to sting and ache. My back, neck, shoulders, and jaw clench and tighten to the point that it becomes painful. Once I get properly cold, it doesn’t matter how many pairs of socks I wear or if I have extra sweaters, the pain continues until I can either take a hot shower/bath to warm back up. I’ve been like this since I was a kid.

    I live in the south of the US currently, and summers here are hot and humid, fairly brutal at times. I fully recognize that it gets very uncomfortable outside during the summer. I don’t, personally, think that it means we need to keep the AC at full blast on its lowest setting all day long like my coworkers do. But I’m definitely in the minority and so summers are painful for me. I usually take several walks around the block to try and warm up throughout the day. If the pain gets bad enough, I’ll use a small space heater or a heating pad to relieve the pain until I can get home.

    I honestly miss living in Madrid where AC was not the general rule and, though hot at times, I rarely got the cold tension shivers that I get all the time here in the South. On the other hand, my partner and I save so much money on utilities in the summer compared to my friends and coworkers cause we use the AC sparingly. So benefits and drawbacks I guess. Crazy how different we all are!