The Teenager had a “bad n boojee” theme party to attend; she was a vision, with her winter-light alabaster skin, she wore a nude tone satin dress, draped a faux fur coat over her shoulders. My child, now womanly.  She left our home, long legs poking out from the cream shield. Armed however, with the bon mots I’ve implanted, which sum up to, more or less, stay sober, do as you desire, come home. When she leaves the comfort of home, I hope that she remains clear-eyed while at a dimly-lit party; that her wits are about her, never compromised. That she is in control of whatever move she makes, not the moves made by others. That if a friend cries for help, The Teenager is able to do so. That when The Teenager decides to leave, she is not subjected to waiting on a subway platform on a weekend schedule, that she can call a Lyft, that she doesn’t need to be worried about not having enough money. I can’t hold her hand while she’s out having fun, but I hope that I’ve instilled in her the sense that she doesn’t need me to, that she has all the tools with which to have fun without too much bother. She is womanly now to the eye, but still very much, my baby.

Because I am still confounded by the Young Pope, reading about Marie Collins quitting the special task force the Pope set up to protect children from sex abuse is fascinating as well as disturbing. ““To find that there’s still a group of men in this level of the church who do not see child protection as a priority, that do not get it in 2017, is just unacceptable.”

It made me happy to see Sarah Silverman’s tweets about being child-free. Women need to know that it’s as natural to not-want-to as it is to want-to having children. That choice is a powerful tool.

Chimananda continues to make the world a better place.

Maybe Beau Willimon’s tweets can be the start of something.

Women of Nasa Lego set! Designed by a woman, Maia Weinstock!

DARIA is 20.

Meg is the nickname of that prehistoric shark, Megalodon.

Kate Brown protecting the good earth.

Gloria Steinem:  “I’ve never done sports: if there were an Olympic team for sitting still, I would be on it.”

And now, have a laugh with Pat Brown.