Wondermine

Season 3, Episode 1: Let's Review!

Larissa Parson & Elizabeth M. Johnson Season 3 Episode 1

We're kicking off Season Three of Wondermine with a quick review of what we've discussed over the previous two seasons. Then we introduce the Season 3 theme. Hint:  When we feel safe, we're able to move our perspective beyond ourselves to include a wider community.

Mentioned on the show:

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black

Alienated America by Timothy P. Carney

https://www.maintenancephase.com/ - workplace wellness episode

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey


Music by ZakharValaha from Pixabay

Music by ZakharValaha from Pixabay

Follow us on Instagram @wonderminepodcast

Larissa Parson:

Welcome to Wondermine, season 3. I'm Larissa Parson. I'm a joy coach. I'm a teacher, a writer, a mom to twins and an enthusiastic reader and eater.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

And I'm Elizabeth M. Johnson. I'm a writer, reader, parent and eater. And you can find me on Instagram and Twitter at EMJWriting.

Larissa Parson:

And if you're new here, hello, we're the duo behind this feminist podcast that looks at the Wow! and the how of living a life rooted in curiosity, community and liberation. If you've ever felt like something was missing, or you were missing something, Wondermine is the podcast for you.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

If you would like to support the show, thank you, you can do that for as little as $5 a month by visiting patreon.com/wondermine, and you get monthly bonus episodes and monthly book club. And thanks for our patrons.

Larissa Parson:

And this is an awesome place to start if you are new here - today's episode is an intro episode where we talk about where we've been, and where we're headed this season.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

But before we begin, we start off every episode with what we're reading, and we end with what we're eating. Larissa, do you want to start us off first?

Larissa Parson:

Sure. So right now I am reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. This is one of those books that everybody was talking about last year, and it took me forever to get my hands on a copy. And so far, I'm loving it. I am like a college year younger than the protagonist. So I love all the cultural references and how they make sense. There's a lot of liminality around being biracial. That's very much a part of my experience of the world. I've been a gamer for many years. And so this is all stuff I'm kind of into. And at the same time, I gotta say that like doing a lot of therapy and work in conversation around friendships and relationships. And all of that is kind of like watching a slow motion train wreck in terms of like the way that shitty communication destroys relationships. I'm about halfway through, and I don't want to put any spoilers in, but like, you can just see it, you're just like, wow, if you had just said, if you'd just been vulnerable. Like so many things would be different...

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Le sigh. Yeah, so many things could have been different. I feel like that's where we could end and begin all over again with that one.

Larissa Parson:

Right. So it's, it's, I'm really enjoying it so

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Nicer writing, you know, I love it. far. Yeah, the writing is great. And I do love that. Um, I'm reading Black Cake, actually just finished it last night, by Charmaine Wilkerson. So it is a family story at heart. And it's it's not a saga in the sense of other books that I've loved that are a saga, but I feel like it's a sort of like a mini kind of saga. And it unfolds in a way that makes you question who is family? What does family look like? chosen family, family of origin, like lots of different pieces kind of make you start you thinking, which I really appreciate. A mom has died. And this is not a spoiler, we know this really early on. And she has left a letter for her adult children. And it's actually as I was kind of thinking about this, it's reminding me of the book that I, the first book that I read this year that I really loved, Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black, and we'll put it in the show notes because I blanking on his last name, but it that is a also a letter to his son. And so there's something that's somehow I guess, I'm being attracted to this year with this form of letters to your progeny said the word progeny. I think I think that's what I want. As mom or parent is dying, and it's it there, I mentioned to you, Larissa, there's a there's some pieces in the middle towards the end, actually, that feel a little bit slow to me. But overall, I really, I really enjoyed it.

Larissa Parson:

Nice. That's great. Um, I feel like it's very in keeping with a lot of the themes that we are going to be talking about this season. And then that keep coming up for us around chosen family and who's family and who's in & who's out- all of those questions.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

absolutely. So I think here on Wondermine, we often say if you're joining us sort of mid season or if you're joining us, and you happen to join us in the pleasure episode, or last year when we're talking about things like well, I don't really want to get too much into it because we talked about this, but we usually say go back and start the beginning and listen to our intro episode. But since we've been doing two seasons, we thought it made sense to start the season with a recap of where we've been. So Larissa is gonna throw us back to October 2021. We're in the first full year of pandemic, homeschooling, waiting for vaccines. Some of us were actually beyond that. But what were we talking about in season one, kind of get us grounded there. So then we can kind of use that as a building point.

Larissa Parson:

So funny, Elizabeth, when you were like, Larissa, so you're gonna recap season one, I was like, Oh, that was so long ago. It feels like a long time ago. So I had to go back and look at our episode titles to kind of jog my memory. It was like, Oh, look at all these things we talked about. So in season one, we mostly talked about elements that add up to a delicious life. We talked about your right people. We talked about pleasure and joy. We talked about the question of whether everyone is in fact doing their best all the time. We talked about the Yes, and! of so many things. Like if everybody's not always doing their best all the time. Sometimes that's okay. Sometimes it's not. There's both. Yeah. And we talked about play and curiosity. And we talked about a few ways that we can start connecting with our bodies as a place where we can feel at home. And what gets in the way of that. And I think maybe the what gets in the way of is also a big part of what we talked about in season one.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yes. And what we continue to talk about, yes, like that, we just continue to keep talking about season two, our first episode was April of last year, and we had a theme, this was the first time we had a theme. And you know, we also have a theme for this year that we will be revealing to you. Stay tuned. After season one, Larissa and I talked about how it went and where we wanted to go and what was next. We originally started out with the idea of the podcast as a limited run series, we weren't really sure what we wanted to do. But this kind of came to us in the pandemic. And we're like, let's just kind of give it a go. So we really didn't go into podcasting with the idea that we would do multiple continuing continuing episodes.

Larissa Parson:

Right, but we were having so much fun, and we

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

And then we'd text each other. And then didn't really want to stop. And there was more to talk about, we'd talk about it on walks and say, look, here's something else like every time we finished an episode, we were like, but there's also this other thing to talk about. that we need to talk about. And feedback from you all been so positive. And we felt like there was a lot more ground to cover really. So we decided to do a second season. And we launched a Patreon to help offset much as much of the cost as we possibly could, right?

Larissa Parson:

Because a podcast is free. But there are real costs that go into producing it, not just the time, creativity, and energy of the hosts, but also the money for hosting, the money for transcription software. And all of those things.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

All the stuff. There's a lot. And since then, since we launched the Patreon, we also added a website. So there's costs involved with that. Because Instagram, if you are on Instagram, you know that it only allows you to put one link in your bio. And that would have been tricky, because we would have thought well, what's the one link that we put in there. So we needed to build a website too. So it's, it's, so the website is there. And obviously that costs money.

Larissa Parson:

But we wanted the Patreon to be as equitable as possible. So $5 month folks get the same perks as $15 month folks. And we thought that was really important.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

And that's still that way that books. So once we had the Patreon set up, we decided to have a season theme for the season because there was so much that we talked about, that wasn't always talked about. So lots of themes there. So that was season two's theme-- things we don't talk about and why.

Larissa Parson:

Yes, what we don't talk about when we talk about stuff, right? It's just, and there's so much to say about all of that, there are a lot of topics that just we just don't talk about enough.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah. And so like when we think about marriage and power, like what is also like not being talked about in that conversation and talk to us, sometimes what's not being talked about, excuse me, is the labor right, and who's doing the labor. And I think we're getting better about that. But still, that is that's a piece that we don't really hear as much about. And so we wanted to bring that out there. So we talked about marriage and power. We've talked about desire, and why it's okay to want, and what we want. We talked about ambition also. But another kind of quandary there, right? We can't be too ambitious, but we need to be more ambitious, right? We need to lean in more, and we still have those some of those messages continue to show up for us. We talked about the trouble with self care. So why it can be hard beyond the obvious reasons, right? So if someone defined self care as like, let's go to the spa for a spa day. So like an obvious reason that might not work for someone is if financially that could be a lot. But beyond that, there's other reasons why self care can be hard. And we talked about that and what it means to care for ourselves and why that really does matter. Yeah.

Larissa Parson:

And how community is part of that. I think it's maybe like a nice side note to throw in there. We talked about perimenopause and menopause in our female troubles episode, which resonated with many of y'all. And that, and our season one episode on pleasure are two of the episodes that we've heard the most about from listeners, those really just struck a chord.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

And since we launched the Patreon, we also introduced bonus episodes for patrons, so patrons get a bonus monthly bonus episode. And last season, they kind of echoed our theme that we were working with. So what we talked, what we don't talk about and why. We talked about shame and delight, rest, friendship, and so much more. We're gonna do that again this year. And that continues, right. So if you're a patron, you know that since we have we haven't since Season Two stopped in basically August of last year, you still continue to get monthly bonus episodes, and each one will continue to be related to the season's theme.

Larissa Parson:

And so here we are, in season three with our theme of community.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Oh, I wish we had like applause built in here. Maybe we can do that at some point that's like so fancy. These are the things that we would love to do if we get fancy, but we are not fancy. So just imagine or you pause and applaud for us. And we will applaud also. And community is our theme. But before we dive in, let's talk about this community, which is so wonderful. So we're grateful every time you share Wondermine with friends, writing us review review will help others find their wow and how and I wanted to read a review, which we love, from Anne. Thank you, Anne, out there. I love listening to these two intelligent and funny women talk about things that are important to me. Keep up the good work, Elizabeth and Larissa.

Larissa Parson:

Thanks, Anne. That's wonderful.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

It is.

Larissa Parson:

So I guess let's dive in. What is community? Elizabeth? You got an answer?

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

I do have an answer. And my answer might look different from other people's answer. And that's really okay. For our purposes here, though, because community is our theme. And we're going to be talking about lots of different facets of community. We're going to be defining community as the huge group of people that you know, in real life and online. So this includes things like social media, friends and followers. This includes right people, right relationships, it includes church folks, includes school folks, includes people that you volunteer with. It includes colleagues or professional associations, it includes neighbors, so it is a really, really big group.

Larissa Parson:

That is a lot of people. It's everybody.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

It's I mean, it isn't, but it is, but it isn't everybody, but it feels like it is everybody. Sometimes it's a lot of people.

Larissa Parson:

It's the everybody that you're aware of like, to like, whether it's way out on the margins of your awareness or right, like right in your face.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, I like that.

Larissa Parson:

Thanks. So one of the things that we want to do this season is break down exactly what it means that all of those people are our community because it is a lot of people. And because we are a feminist podcast that looks at the wow, and the how of living a life rooted in curiosity, community and liberation, we wanted to start off our exploration of community by getting curious. And what curiosity looks like here is asking what is important about community, why we need it, what to do when our community doesn't seem to suit us, and so much more. So, when we get curious, we're able to connect more authentically with each other, which means we're gonna have a more intimate community, ultimately, and we're gonna have a deeper understanding of what community means when we approach it with curiosity.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

I was just thinking about this. One of the things that I've heard for years back when I was coaching, and in the five years leading up to COVID, that I facilitated this survivor support group is that we really crave this kind of intimate community. And, for example, I find it really hard to feel close to people to want to build a relationship with people or to keep investing time in an existing relationship, when there's a lack of curiosity on their end. So what that might look like is they're not you know, checking in on me and what I'm doing maybe professionally, what do you up to right now is about maybe it's like not reading my substack or, or not looking, not following me on socials, even if they are on social. Curiosity. They don't listen to Wondermine, right? Curiosity is really this thing. One of these things, right? Well, I would say vulnerability is one of the other pieces but curiosity is really one of these pieces that gets us to more intimate community and that is something I've really feel like we crave and we kind of you and I feel like we hear this too from people. Where are those right people? Let's find them. I need that kind of thing.

Larissa Parson:

Exactly. Elizabeth it occured to me as you're talking, as you were speaking, like Oh, curiosity opens the doorway to vulnerability. We can be vulnerable if the person we're talking to is genuinely curious. They don't already have a judgment in mind, there's a there's a spaciousness in that, where there's like a space for us to be vulnerable and that creates intimacy. We're gonna get into that more later but ...

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

is a gem for y'all to take away from Larissa very impromptu curiosity can lead us, doesn't have to, but it can, like, if obviously, like, it's one of those things like, are we both willing? Like is, like, is there a desire, right? But curiosity can lead us to vulnerability. And I love that. Thank you for that. Larissa. Gorgeous,

Larissa Parson:

You were just you were talking and I was like, Oh, okay.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

So pearls.

Larissa Parson:

I feel like this is important. So, So, why do we want to get curious and vulnerable? Why do we want intimate community? Intimate community helps us feel safe - psychologically safe - in the sense that we have people to lean on, that we have the support we need to find a sense of safety when we need it. So like we're having a hard day, we know there are people out there. And we're also able to do the same for others. In no small part because our capacity increases, when we know we have support, if that makes sense. Like our capacity to be supportive. It goes both ways. And so that intimate community creates that sense. When we feel safe, we're able to move our perspective beyond ourselves and our survival, to include our wider community. And when we start thinking about our wider community, that means we can start working toward liberation. Right, like liberation of ourselves, from the way that systemic oppression manifests in our bodies. And liberation, creating a world that allows for everyone else's liberation. It is ultimately a community effort. Like, it's not something we do by ourselves.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, I love this. And I just want to like, bring this out a little bit more. Because there's this tendency, I know, when I listened to in in your, I think you're better at this. But when I listened to podcast, sometimes I'm like, Wait, what was that? What was that thing that they just said, and then 15 seconds, I'm like, that's not enough where it wasn't. Sometimes I can find it. But for those of you who are unaware, we do have a transcript of this, you will be able to find it very easily. But if you cannot, I'm going to highlight it here. So Larissa, which is just really a gorgeous point here. It says, When we feel safe, we're able to move our perspective beyond ourselves to include a wider community. And that then helps us move towards liberation. And I think this is so interesting, because one of the things we've seen with, for instance, like disenfranchised voters, right, folks in communities who just really don't feel heard, or they feel left behind. Those are folks who really are isolated. Those are folks who don't feel like they have that safety net there, folks who are often more inclined, there's like lots of research to kind of back this up. And I'll put one book that I'm thinking of in the shownotes. But there are people who feel like there's just they're not safe, they don't have those spaces. And so it really is kind of gets into this real hunker down kind of mentality. And it's me against the world. Yeah. And so this is so fascinating. And I think this is just such a really, really crucial point. When we have those, that greater community that we do feel safe with, we're able to move into these areas that can - into like a wider community where we can be when we can work towards liberation for everyone, where it starts that we start to kind of get curious again, I think about What about that guy on the count, on the counter on the corner? What about him? Like, how is he doing? You know, as opposed to just driving right by because we're so sucked into? I'm alone. I'm not being heard. My needs are not getting met. I feel left behind. I have a job that no one can use anymore kind of thing.

Larissa Parson:

Yes. Exactly. But there's something that gets in the way though, right? Aside from that, sort of like feeling isolated from the wider community, but like on the on a more personal level. What else makes us feel...?

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, I just wanted to like make a little mental note, mental note. Like I'm literally getting here with pencil me like write down that book that's in the show notes. Book. There is no show notes. But one of the things that gets in our way. Going back also to these folks who are feeling isolated and alone and left behind is our lived experiences and our lived experiences can include things always does include things like a trauma history, right? And that gets us in the way of getting to community and through community then liberation, right. And so traumas can inhibit us from building that community, but it's like traumas in general, right. So like whatever that trauma is, it could be an earthquake, it could be an environmental disaster, it could be something else, like a big move or something. But interpersonal traumas really are what I'm kind of talking about here, you're the biggest culprits, because interpersonal traumas. And we're thinking like rape or abuse or neglect, if you're a child, are usually perpetrated by someone that we know. And so when we're hurt by someone that we know, trust is lost. And vulnerability becomes unsafe. So when we feel like we can't trust people or become vulnerable, or be vulnerable with them, it's really hard to be connected to other people. Yes, and if any of this sounds familiar, you're probably a patron who's like, we were just listening to this in December. You're right. We were we talked a lot about this in the December bonus episode, but I really want to kind of bring it here. So it is something that's accessible for everyone because it's super important. And especially for trauma survivors, who tend to think I'm the only one who or why is it only me who or why is everyone else normal? Or why am I the quote unquote, crazy why you're not? We just don't talk enough about the long term impact of trauma on our interpersonal relationships, things that, like building trust and our ability to connect with others and be vulnerable.

Larissa Parson:

And yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And it takes a long time to rebuild that capacity for vulnerability. Yeah, that's why right people are so important.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

That is, yep. Gotta get em.

Larissa Parson:

Gotta get em. So feeling disconnected from other people, feeling like I can't be vulnerable, I'm the only one, I'm not part of the crowd, makes it a lot harder for us to see past our own noses. It makes it a lot harder to see the big picture because we are focused on like, I am the problem. But you're not. It gets much harder to see that so much of our individual dissatisfaction - like that sense of just like something's wrong, comes from systemic problems. So like to go back to self care, for example. So much of the like, self care messaging, and I was just listening to that Maintenance Phase bonus episode on Workplace Wellness.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, right.

Larissa Parson:

And like, and there's all of this, like, there's the one example they gave of the teachers who were given, like, these self care tips...

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

oh my gosh, and they're like, like, 30%, understaffed or something?

Larissa Parson:

It's like, make time for the things that bring you joy, say no, and delegate. I'm like, really? So those are systemic problems. That is not just about like, you're not making time and delegating your work. That's the problem is you have too much work. And you should never have that much work as a teacher. Which is not to say, like, just because these problems are systemic in nature, it doesn't mean we need to sit around waiting for a revolution to destroy all the systemic problems before we can start feeling better. We can make some of this less awful for ourselves. And we can work toward a better world at the same time. And I think sometimes this is really hard for people to kind of grok that, like, it is possible to do individual, small scale, small community stuff and change the world. It's not an either or.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

no, no, it's not an either or, exactly.

Larissa Parson:

So for example, let me just pick a specific thing. There's a lot of talk about rest these days. Thanks to no parts, no small part to Tricia Hersey's work as the Nap Bishop. And her recent book, Rest Is Resistance, which is our May book club pick for our Patreon. her work is really, really, really important, and really calls attention to the systemic reasons that we need rest, and especially the reasons that Black women need rest. And we can look at the history of our culture and rest and trace it back to chattel slavery and the idea that some humans deserve more rest than others. We could look at the industrial revolution. We can look at the nightmare of trying to parent, homeschool and work for home that 2020 became for so many folks. Capitalism does not want us to rest. And, and when we look at rest through an intersectional lens, there's always more involved than capitalism alone, right? Capitalism by itself could be less oppressive, we could make a kinder, gentler capitalist nation.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

I mean, it is possible there are those there are those theories that talk about a different kind of capitalism for sure.

Larissa Parson:

Absolutely. I mean, there are ways where people are working to make capitalism less oppressive by doing things like enacting living, living wages, and universal health care, things like that, where it's not just extractive. But when we take capitalism and couple it with white supremacy culture, then here we are being expected to thrive with no support. Thriving as a human requires rest. It requires time for joy and pleasure and connection. So then the work that we are tasked with is to make space for all of those things, despite the oppressive nature of capitalism, and that's where community comes in.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, so there's a lot here, and I just want to lift up a few pieces, because I think it's really important. I feel like that's my purpose here. Today, I'm gonna lift up a little bit more that Larissa says. So feeling disconnected from others makes it harder to see that what we feel is indiv, that we feel like is individual dissatis, dissatisfaction like, we're just like, it's us. That's the problem is often actually a systemic issue. And specifically, systems of oppression, kind of systemic issue, like capitalism and white supremacy, which would really rather us be disconnected from each other, right? When we're disconnected from each other. We're more in worker mode, we're more like, she's not like me over here. We're siloed. Because that isolation, I think, one does a lot, a lot of things to support those systems of oppression. But it also makes us more competitive with each other and makes us less likely to see similarities. And actually, these I think, these are my words, not your words, but I think you might agree with them.

Larissa Parson:

Oh, but I love that. That's so good.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, I think that's that's it feels feels like an important thing. Yeah. And back to Larissa's words, rest is a topic that we have been hearing a lot more about. And one way we can take back our humanity. Right. And this is a big thing that you've talked about for years. And our time from those systems, is how we can thrive as humans is through rest. Does that sound like kind of? That's all right.

Larissa Parson:

Yeah, that sounds right. Like, I feel like I want to pull this together even a little bit more, because, when you said that isolation makes us more competitive with each other and more siloed from each other at the same time... And rest is part of like, getting out of that. But also, I really feel like, even before we start to rest, we need to see each other as like, part of the same system. Does that make sense, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

If it does, I'm just thinking, and I'm less able to see you for who you are. Because I'm not rested. I'm exhausted, because I'm too freakin tired. And I'm short tempered. Right? It's like when we're trying to do things when we're hungry. We're just like, it just doesn't work that well, or trying to push through something. It feels like that's similar to what you're saying.

Larissa Parson:

Yeah. So I mean, I feel like maybe there's a yes, and here where we need to have rest. And we need to create community around, maybe around resting. So I think maybe this is a good place to say why liberation matters. Because, liberation is the thing we are aiming for when we are trying to see each other for who we really are. And to live a life full of rest and joy and pleasure. That is what liberation to me. Is, I mean, it's it's the word that I like to use to describe the state of moving toward freedom from systemic oppression. It feels to me like saying there that there's a definitive place where we can say, we have achieved liberation, I feel like Well, that's certainly not going to happen in my lifetime. But thinking about liberation as a goal, or a, even a philosophy that informs the way that I want to live. That matters, because liberation is for everyone, not just the people who can afford it. So when we're thinking about liberation, we're thinking about living life beyond the definitions and conditions that the systems of oppression offer us. Again, we could just stick with like capitalism or white supremacy culture, like we're looking to live outside of the narrow definitions of what a good life means. We're looking for where's their joy? Where's their peace? Where's their flourishing? That doesn't require the acquisition of enormous amounts of capital, but enough.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

yeah. Which is a good like, teaser to later in the season to actually So we're gonna talk about that. Yeah, um, one thing that we did mention in season one is the Yes. And and this really feels like, as you just said, it feels really relevant here. Yes, there are bigger systemic issues that need to be solved. Paid Parental Leave, for example, is not only good for families, right, but it helps build our whole community, helps build a broader community, make us more connected to others, obviously, would help us build empathy, all of these things. And we still need to take individual steps to build our community. Right? We are too precious, life is too short, to just sit back and wait for systemic changes to be made. So we can Yes, and this, you know, we can work on both when and where we have capacity to do so.

Larissa Parson:

Exactly. There's a trash truck right behind me, just in case it comes through on the audio. It's super loud to me. Yeah. So this is really, really, really key, that there's a yes, and that we're constantly toggling around all the time. And the reason that liberation matters is that we all thrive when we're able to hold both of these things and able to, yes, and it. And we all thrive.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

already, yes. And so this season, we're looking at community both big and small, because we do believe that none of us is free until we're all free. Fannie Lou Hamer.

Larissa Parson:

I mean, that's the real point of any of this, right?

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

All of it, all of it, all of it.

Larissa Parson:

Our little corner of the liberation quilt is about making you think about some ways to live that might ripple out into bigger changes in your life and your kids or your nibbling lives in your neighbor's lives. Other folks bring in the agitation that makes change happen at a local political level or a national political level, or, you know, within a bigger corporation or something like that, but the goal is the same, which is getting all of us free.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

What's a nibbling? Again?

Larissa Parson:

Nibbling is a gender neutral term for a child in your life, like a niece or a nephew. But also can be applied to a neighbor's kid.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, that's what I thought. Okay. Yeah,

Larissa Parson:

I love that word. Because it just like, it's so much then you don't have to say niece, nephew, neighbor's kid. You can say nibbling.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah. Or friendly, or whatever. Yeah, nibbling, okay.

Larissa Parson:

So what you are going to hear this season from us are conversations on communities of place, like neighborhoods or schools,

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

conversations around chosen family and family of origin

Larissa Parson:

on friendships, circles of friends and right people. And I think that's it.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

I think that's probably, that's maybe enough. Yeah.

Larissa Parson:

So if you would like to support our work here on the podcast, head on over to patreon.com/wondermine where you'll have access to our monthly bonus episodes and to our book club.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

And just a little brief note about book club, we really enjoy you. We really invite you to come and join a book club with us. Wow, that's really convoluted. Even if you have not read the book that we're reading, or have nothing that you want to like add to the conversation. So that's totally fine to just sort of show up on Book Club and kind of just hang out with us. We love that too. So no pressure to kind of like read the whole book. We are often not there.

Larissa Parson:

No, no, we all we seem to alternate who's read the book, actually each time. You'll fit right in. A couple last things like if

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Yeah, right in. you want to sponsor an episode or two of the show, head over to wondermine.com/contact and reach out to us there. And Elizabeth, before we tell them to follow us on Instagram. What are we eating? Oh my gosh. I was like, What are we missing here? I feel like there was a gap. My phone? What are we eating? Okay, I'll tell you what I'm eating right now and it's fabulous. So I'm a big fan of Phoebe snack service. Rachel turned me on to this, one of her friends works for Phoebe. And so this week, dropped off at my door. I am eating her Meyer lemon pie and I can't tell you what a slice of heaven this is.multiple slices. Because the Meyer lemons are like that sweeter lemon. They're not quite as tart that are not really that easily. findable Whoo, that's not good, easily. Not easily to be found around here. Anyway, that's really terrible English, but you can't really find them that easily around here. And so I am diving right into this. I saw it on the, on the Sunday email and I'm like, lemon pie in January. It's all me. I whipped up some cream. Don't believe in Cool Whip. I bought some heavy cream, whipped it up with a little bit of sugar and put it on the side and it is decadent and delicious and just a slice of heaven.

Larissa Parson:

That sounds are amazing. And I am so jealous. I can't even hide it. It sounds I love a ha I love lemon pie. I love meyer lemon. Jealous.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

So good. What are you eating? What are you eating?

Larissa Parson:

How am I supposed to follow that?

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

I don't know, but you could. And you should.

Larissa Parson:

Okay, I am going out tonight to Alley 26 here in downtown Durham. And I don't know what I'm going to have but whatever it is, it's going to be delicious. And I'm going to have a cocktail and it's going to be amazing. And so that I think is I am looking forward to the mystery that is going to unfold.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

But they have good snacks. They have really good snacks. Their snacks are good. Yeah, snacks are good. So you are in for a big treat.

Larissa Parson:

I have never had anything that tastes bad there.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

Because nothing does.

Larissa Parson:

Exactly. So that is what I am going to look forward to.

Elizabeth M. Johnson:

So in the interim between now and the next time you hear us for episode two of season three follow us@wonderminepodcast on Instagram. That is the only place you will find us. Thanks again. We're so delighted you've been listening.

Larissa Parson:

Thanks everyone.

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