Today is At's Boss Day.
And it made her so happy to hear that Big A's favorite photo from Thanksgiving was this one of At on the sofa with the puppies, because it is so reminiscent of that whole genre of paintings from the 19th century, where women are reclining luxuriously on sofas while reading with pets--except this one is updated for the 21st century by At reading on her phone.
I mean... it's nice, I suppose, to be compared to a fancy lady in a painting... But also, while Big A's love was never in question, he used to brag a lot about "my boy" and found At's transition tough, so this compliment meant a lot to At.
And a shoutout to whatever art appreciation course Big A took in college. Some of it may come from his artist grandparents and mom, but his art references frequently have me looking stuff up.
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ALSO, THANK YOU FOR READING!! It's going to take me a minute to get through the comments...
20 comments:
I THOUGHT THAT TOO!
Thank you for being honest about Big A. I do think that transitions can be hard on parents and maybe it's hard to say that they are hard because we don't want them to be hard? Do you know what I mean?
Ha - I love that comparison! The two depictions are so similar! And how nice for At and her dad to share such an affirming view.
(Also, sorry for the FLOOD of comments I have left on your blog this morning.)
So lovely indeed! And yes, what Nicole said.
I can see why it's a favorite photo -- I loved it too. And I'm glad that her colleagues liked it! All the more meaningful in the situations that you described. The art reference is really interesting. Well done, Big A!
North came out as non-binary eight years ago and it's still a little hard for me sometimes. I especially miss their birth name, which I loved.
Speaking of Big A, how is his health?
I love this so much! The depth of compassion, the unconditional love, the Renaissance man who knows his art--so much to be joyful about here!
Yesterday I stumbled on a road named "Boss Street" (or Lane or Circle, I cannot remember the specifics other than it was 'Boss'). I thought of you and your sweet family and your Boss Day tradition and had a smile. So it's extra fun to see you talk about At's Boss Day in this post.
I think that loving others, particularly when it requires us to surrender our own (sometimes subconscious) expectations is very hard. Worth it. But hard.
Sending love to you and yours! <3
-Steph
I love this so much. Maybe this photo needs to be printed on a canvas?
Aww that is so very sweet! I love the comparison to a classic work of art and I can see the parallels!!
Yes! I think I've been holding my breath a bit on this because transitioning as an adult is hard and all the support needs to go there. But it does affect the whole family. <3
Yes, Suzanne--I'm grateful for all of it.
(EVEN the comments :)
Agreed. (And it took me years to be able to say it out loud.)
Thanks, Jeanie! I can see why it would appeal to the artist in you :)!
Steph, I know that feeling! We had two kids with Nu's old name at the Thanksgiving table in 2024 and one this year... (Incidentally, I'd thought it was a rare and unusual name, but people were joking that it was the "Jennifer" of their birth year.)
You know, I had to stop and think about it... his fevers just went away! And then we stopped going to the E.R. Wow. I wish everything worked out like this.
Nance, someday, I'll have to catch you up on the full story... this is a very special person. <3
Thank you, Steph. I love the idea of you wandering about D.C. and randomly being reminded of little ol' me!
The same thing happens to me with your last name sometimes!
Thank you for the wishes... XOXO and <3
I WAS thinking of that as a present for both of them :)
I know you appreciate how much this takes, Lisa <3
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