I appreciate you all, you regulars and distant barely-remembered real people who I've still seen and interacted with this decade as much as many of my family and schoolmates. Well, two decades. It's been a while, to be clear.

Politics and climate and hate barreling towards us stronger than ever and yet seem frozen in a scream, never quite to break over our heads or we're deep underwater already beyond reach. Twenty months ago I spent a lot of time calling random friends to try to make sense of things, I recall it felt good, to be lost together.

The immigration story is the hardest for me to confront these days, just pain and fear sliding deep past my cynical defenses.

The child has started to say No, to be frustrated with our lack of shared language, to be meeting us halfway on that one but not on vegetables. She has started daycare after an enjoyable 16 months of spending her days with her parents, who needed just a little more time to work to support a lifestyle we think she'll want. After a month, she is finally excited to jump in with the other kids and say goodbye to me this morning at the door.

We traveled this summer, as we intend to do most summers, because after last summer in the Georgia sun we swore never to do that again. August is bad enough. The trip was too far but not too long, good vistas and visits with friends. If you want in on a future visit, reach out, I've missed reconnecting with folks scattered days drives away. You can also drive to us, we'll put you up in our style. We visited 18 states and 3 provinces and it was quiet most of the time. Camping with a one year old involved a lot fewer campfires and stars, so often asleep before the sunset.

I am still optimistic about some role for federated social media in the future of my web of communication, but some drama and questions of moderation and harassment and what does community mean when I could just toot into the boundless void on my own instance has me pulled back a bit again - corporate anti-social media is a violent deadend but I'm still pulled in at times, mistaking outrage for staying informed. And only able to read so many books for distraction before needing that hit of unedited unrated nonsense in an endless glowing stream.

Love yall.