I taught her early. “You’re not here to please anyone,” I started telling her when she was three. My dad kept my sister on a tight leash. Not me. I let Julia breathe. Make sure she's confident.

Now, that she's started high school, she’s a force. The teachers complain sometimes. “She talks back.” I tell them she’s not here to bow. They don’t understand. I've taught her to “Be yourself.” And she's doing it!

Last week, I spied on her a bit after dropping her off at the mall. She was smoking with a boy from her class. The next day, it was a different one, older, with a car. One of my friends warned me that “She’s trouble.” They’re jealous, jealous they couldn't raise a real girl boss like me.

Yesterday was her high school's big football game. I watched from the stands: tall Black boys running, throwing and doing their thing. I was supposed to meet Julia in our usual seats, but I couldn't find her. A few hours after the game, I found her by the field, her jacket slung over one shoulder. She stood with half the team, laughing, her hand resting easy on a linebacker’s arm. Another player tossed her his water bottle; she caught it, drank, handed it back, breathing heavy. They loudly anointed her with a cool nickname: the "Train". They must think she's fast and strong enough to be their new fullback!

I swelled with pride, knowing my Julia’s strength had earned her a place among them, a girl boss breaking every mold --just as I’d always dreamed!

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5704719&forum_id=2#48812715)

Shalom!

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5704719&forum_id=2#48812680)

Regular christians probably do not meet true Jesus Freaks too often

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5704719&forum_id=2#48818443)

Then in IRL we have a divorce and family law system that rewards the worst behavior out there and fails to hold anyone accountable for bad behavior. We have a marriage penalty tax. Most religions don't even work to counteract this anymore. Basically, we constantly send a message that marriage and kids are net negatives.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5704719&forum_id=2#48813146)

I'm using "sluiced" in the vulgar Shakespearean sense here fyi.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5704719&forum_id=2#48813828)

The women of other countries still remember how to be human. They look you in the eye. They show up. They part from you with decency. The American woman cannot do this. She has been liberated into nothingness. She dates like a shadow passing over water—momentary, fleeting, and gone before you can touch her.

https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1jnjks0/comment/mkkmykw/?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5704719&forum_id=2#48816140)