Welcome to Wellness Weekly coming to you every Wednesday. This will be a weekly series, sort of like a Letter from the Editors that will rotate between Morgan, Lara and Luigi with the occasional guest. We’ll hold space on the Dirt to check-in on our Sixth Sense: the term we use to refer to our spirit, our intuition, our inner power. And because while we exist in the world alongside our other Five Senses, we’ll do a check-in of those, too.
As we continue to dive deep into our monthly celebration of Pride, my Wellness Weekly is deeply entrenched in the unconditional and absolute love I have for my beautiful transgender badass son, Rei. Rei is thirteen and graduated from 8th grade this week, having spent the last ten years in the same school. Lots of tears, lots of smiles, lots of memories.
I’ll use any excuse for a party, but this week in particular, I loved using a middle school graduation as a reason to gather together our chosen family -- and my younger sister visiting from Florida! -- in a special dinner party (aesthetic was dim sum meets gas station snack food chic) to commemorate how much we love this kid who reminds us every damn day what it means to be confident, be yourself, and the understanding to say to yourself if some of the world is too behind the times to understand you yet: who cares!
I love you Rei, love everything you stand for. When I tell you this is but the beginning of the rest of your life, I mean it with my whole heart.
Here’s what’s going on with my other senses this week:
Sight --
This week Luigi and I were in Austin for our first real life event! To see a group of people safely connecting together to have a vulnerable, deep discussion about how to harmonize personal, cosmic, and relational energies was a sight for sore eyes. I have missed those moments so much and am bursting with gratitude.
Sound --
Lorde! You’re back! You’re beachy! You’re gorgeous! You’re giving us all the summer vibes. Solar Power gave me life this week when what I probably needed was a nap, but I’m not mad about it. Definitely pair it with the video for maximum appreciation. *booking flights to NZ as soon as I can.
Smell --
Ode to the coconut! As I get ready for a birthday vacation next week, I’m ramping up the application of one of my favorite scents of the season. In drink, lotion, sunscreen, and shampoo form -- I’ll take it all. For me it is the sensory reminder of a childhood spent growing up in the sand and saltwater, of lazy days with friends, and the warmth of this planet that provides so much to us (and a reminder of how much we need to return the favor).
Taste --
For Rei’s graduation party we celebrated with dumplings from his favorite place, Palette Tea House in San Francisco. Everything was perfect, including their specialty, butter-infused lobster ha gow. We added a little kawaii touch via the cutest dessert buns in the world from Bun Bao. I dare anybody to eat only one of the adorbs panda bun filled with black sesame paste.
Touch --
This week while in Austin, Smudge was joined by Colin Bedell, the incredible relational astrologer. We had found Colin on Instagram (we are not alone -- he is a total star) and couldn’t believe that this brilliant person was willing to come take part in our event. Many zoom meetings and texts later, getting to hug him was THE BEST. Actually meeting the people we have been fortunate enough to connect with during this veritably virtual last 18 months is a gift. And to be honest a bit of a relief -- good to know that he was just as wonderful as he appears. Here’s to many more of those in-person, kind of surreal, but totally amazing reunions of new friends!
