The Amazing Chase
Issue 26 is all over the place
Welcome!
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin are having another person. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and now 7 children under eight. I’m not judging. Are you?
Carmen, Rafa, Leo, Romeo, Edu, and Marilu are their kids so far. I think my kids are Owen and Emma. Some days I’m not sure.
Yes, Alec and Hilaria have help. They may have a nanny for each child. Still, they’re the mother and father, and the weight of that responsibility would crush me. Along with the noise, the questions, teeth-brushing, hair-brushing, swim lessons, bickering, birthdays, lunches, homework, bedtimes—all of it—except for the souls. Those can stay.
Switching moms, to the weight of Nadya Suleman’s uterus in 2009. She had eight people in one fell swoop—make that 14—she had six already (math!).
One mom, 14 kids. I know you judged her. We all did.
After a stint as a pornstar and two years of substance abuse, she’s been clean since 2013. Her eight children are 13-years-old, and without going into the ins and outs of what a complete mess it must be on the regular, they appear to be doing way better than YOU (okay, we) expected.
Like, she’s a good mom. Dig around on her IG, because you need another person to follow.
Amazing Chase
All I really need to know about navigation I learned from the Warriors vs. Suns game at the new Chase Center in San Francisco.
I took institutional signage (wayfinding) for granted until last Wednesday. You know, airports, hospitals, sports arenas. Where am I? Look up, there’s a sign for that.
Listen here, once our butts were in seats, we had a blast—excellent game, rockstar seats, and great company—thanks Dad, Carla, and Owen.
But, before and after the game, well, take this quiz for a sliver of our experience. Which elevator button would you press if your car were parked here (see photo)?
1
2
-1
-2
The answer is -1.
We got it wrong, too.
How Many Shirts Am I Wearing?
I count four.
My friend Marisa sent me this photo taken two years ago while on a sunset hike in the early days of the pandemic. I assure you I didn’t like this photo when I first saw it. Am I pregnant? Is this what I look like from behind? And many more judgments just like this.
Two years on, I love it. So much so, I’m showing it to you. Why? What a moment in time. Two pandemic-years and two cats later so much has changed.
The thing about people in photos is they’re frozen. They don’t know what we know.
Comments, Please
The keyboard shortcut for making comments in Google Docs—I needed this information recently. For whatever reason, my search terms didn’t return the results. Days later, an email arrived containing the answer (among other things). Bam!
In Google docs, highlight the text you’re commenting on:
Mac: ⌘ + Option + m
PC: Ctrl + Alt + m
I dropped an example below, with a comment to myself, inside the beginnings of an essay I’m writing.
May this shortcut add hundreds of seconds to your life.
A Boy and His AirTag
In cat-lady news: Romeo’s second day wearing an Apple AirTag in a silicon case on his collar. I swapped his “lunchbox” with sleeker hardware. While it’s just an avatar, I know he’s strutting the streets just like this.
What Good Moms Do
Borrow a child, give them pizza and a sleeping bag, and stage an American Girl photoshoot. I try.
My mom’s name is Christine. She wished one of her children would incorporate her name into their children’s names. None of us did. When I told Emma this, she changed her doll’s name to Christine immediately. We love you, Mama Pajama!
Hilarious reading the inner workings of your mind and some good tips too! Thank you Anna and Mills for turning me on to your newsletter :)
Love your comments and photos.