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Oct 17Liked by Jenny Parrott (she/her)

I think the most complicated relationship I have in life is my relationship with my younger self. Thank you for sharing this story, Vera Monstera!

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Wow, yeah. And an ever-shifting one. Ahh, time, what are you doing to us?

Thank you so much for reading and engaging with this essay! It means the world to me.

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Oct 17Liked by Jenny Parrott (she/her)

In the bird a projection?

Is there a little bit of all of us in that bird?

Is the bird the memory of our younger self?

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I love these questions. They open the door to so many more questions! Yes. No. Everything in between. "The bird is a bird. Let her be a bird." And yet, who knows...I could have completely imagined the bird. She is everything I need her to be.

Now, flipping the lens on the bird, I'm seeing the moments when we are stuck. Not ready. Sitting around and you don't know why until you bump into someone. I like thinking that the someone could be a younger self. Yes, we are all that bird.

Etta the dog (apple of my eye and little love of my life) is so much older now...almost 14 and running on empty these days. Revisiting essays where she surfaces is so sweet and so bittersweet. She is the bird, too. That's actually what I've always called her, the bird. So, there's that. :)

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Oct 16Liked by Jenny Parrott (she/her)

You may be hurt, little bird, but what about my needs?

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Haha! Exactly. But let's be real. That bird was fiiiiiiine. :)

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