This week, marked the last day of public school here in New York City. With The Teenager now in college, I’m truly the spectator, watching my social media feeds packed with first day/last day tributes of children, the children of my closest friends graduating, like that. In years past, this point of the school year has struck me with great agita: what to do with the child now, for the next nine weeks before school begins again? School provided a bastion of free childcare. As a woman who works outside the home and who was (still am, even with her in college) raising a child on her own, not having the safety net of the structure of school was daunting. What did I do? I sent her to day camps (sometimes, quite the disaster). I hired her babysitter to spend the days with her. I had my Mom and my Dad step in, even; I’d fly them to New York from where they lived in Las Vegas, to do Safta and/or Saba duty (I rarely, if ever, had them stay with me simultaneously. The endless drone of a life-long couple tended to clash with the mellow soundtrack of my life). In later years, the child chose to go to sleepaway camp, which meant six or nine weeks apart, which also translated to a temporary liberation for me. Oh, how I looked forward to my “time off” from active parenting. To be able to sleep in. To not have to fuss over the state of her bedroom. To be able to know exactly how much money was in my wallet at all times. Oh, the bliss. But now? As a college student? The Teenager has outgrown sleepaway camp. The Teenager is an independent person with a social life that is quite active. The Teenager is doing an internship during the day and working a job at night. I’m not longer stressing about her in the conventional sense, in the way I did during those early school years. My worries revolve around her mental health, her body health, but not how she’ll spend her time, or who will look after her as she does it. I don’t have to worry about childcare. She’s got it covered. As for my wallet, tho. 🙂

E. Jean Carroll: “I just know a hideous man when I see one. And I have seen plenty.”

On Elizabeth Warren at the debates, which I did not watch and do not plan to.

On Kamala Harris in South Carolina.

Charo: “You must live! And you must watch out for the people you love!”

Is your house messy? Good!

Stuff to get check ups for.

Watching Lizzo at the BET Awards brings me joy.

And now have a laugh with Marie Faustin.