I'm retreating from the world a bit right now in a few different capacities, which may be a type of giving up, but I want to see if it's good for my sanity. Here are the few main places where you won't be seeing me for a little while at least:

1. Social media.
   For my parenting editing gig I needed to stay on top of trending stories and share and promote stories. I do not have the willpower to avoid getting sucked into the ugliness of it all--while it's affirming to commiserate with my friends and share my thoughts I also am too weak not to step into the muck and mire and out of a perverse curiosity affirm that people out there are as awful as I think they can be.
   
   
2. Parenting writing.
   My gig with SheKnows has come to a close and I'm taking a little break from parenting writing. While I got a lot of satisfaction bringing others' stories to light there is a certain element to that gig that is a little draining, and I don't feel like my particlar stories add anything right now, either to a general conversation or my own sense of personal processing. I also haven't felt like the greatest mom in the world right now between the post-election hangover and my bedbug bites I am distracted and impatient. I've been saying "Oh wow neat" in a vague way a lot lately.
   
   
3. The actual outside world.
   For my bedbug bites (which first reared their head about 10 days ago) I got a week's worth of steroid pills and felt much better up until about yesterday. As I write this my face is covered in re-inflamed bites and frankly I feel hideous. I am canceling plans, keeping my head down at pickup and dropoff and even ordered in groceries for today because I just don't want to be seen.

So anyway, maybe in a week I can get back on social media and have better willpower. I'm working on an intellectually-oriented piece for a higher ed institution right now that might be a good palate-cleanser and generally informative. And I hope I get some really good drugs when I see the dermatologist tomorrow.