Plot Points #102 💌
Girl clothes, living in the past, Oxford scandals, and a theologian quiz
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Hi friends! Happy Friday. Glad to have you here.
This Lenten season seems to have flown. I’ve fasted from YouTube (except for my workouts), but have pretty quickly come to discover more of what I already know about my tendency to seek out joy from the internet. Instead of YouTube, I let Pinterest/Substack Notes/etc. fill in the gap. It raises some serious questions for me about the life I want to lead, and whether being a person who writes on the internet is worth the amount of time I’ve wasted over the past twenty years (👵🏻). I haven’t settled on an answer yet. I’ve considered migrating my email list back to my website in order to reduce the scrolling and brain rotting, but that’s just an idea for now. Still, when the thought of never being on the internet except to actually look something up, or pay a bill, or send an email brings me only relief, I have to pay attention to that.
In the meantime, I’m grateful to continue sharing work that matters to me and I’m thankful for each and every one of you.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Wendi
Word of the Week ✍🏻
Sehnsucht: (v.) A deep yearning or desire for ideal alternative experiences.
Point #1: “Girls are being trained—groomed—to be attractive to men as early as possible.”
I was speaking to my husband about this just the other night. Take a look at the boys’ or men’s clothing section in any department store: practical, utilitarian, fairly generic items.
But women’s clothing? Girls’ clothing? Designed to be seen, admired, and objectified from the moment we emerge from the womb. Julie Bogart says the quiet part out loud here in her latest essay, and I think it’s far past time we all paid attention.
Point #2: Get in, loser. We’re doing God’s work.
I love theology. I love a quiz. So when I saw Taylor D'Amico share her results of the “Which Theologian Are You?” quiz, I had to take it myself. Turns out, I’m a Maximus the Confessor, followed closely by Teresa of Avila and my boy, Jack. (That’s C.S. Lewis to y’all.)
Which theologian are you?
Point #3: “Consolation for your historical grief is not found in living in the past; it’s found in recognising that the past is still living — that we are still living in the same world.”
If you, like me, find yourself feeling nostalgic for eras past (see: our Word of the Week!), you need to read this beautiful essay from Lucia M, which explores the source of this longing and offers emotional insight into how we can live out the past values we crave right here and now.
Point #4: Let them get dirty.
I loved this piece from Emily Phillips on how to mother boys. While Theo has so much in common with his older sister (who had more energy as a little kid than this introvert knew what to do with), the truth is that parenting boys and girls requires different skills. You’re not doing it wrong, Mama. You just need to let him go dig a hole in the yard. (Honestly, that’s one of Theo’s favorite pastimes 😆.)
Reading in The Nook 📚
Not much to report this week beyond the usual. My NetGalley request for The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury was approved, so I’ve just started that. I have no idea if it’s any good yet, but that title? That cover? 10/10. India Holton—She of the Snarky Historical Fiction—gave it a rave review, so I feel optimistic!
I’m also set to begin Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, which received the most votes in last week's opening line poll. It’s a thriller about a down-on-her-luck young woman who gets paid to house-sit an exclusive New York apartment. The only catch? The building is carrying some dark and twisted secrets. Sounds delicious!
What are you reading right now? 👇🏻
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“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson—







Oh man. My top three were very Patristic! I was primarily Maximus the Confessor as well with Augustine and Athanasius trailing behind.
Thank you so much for the shout out Wendy!! Honoured to be included among what look like some fantastic essays <3