RPR 112: Dripping with swag

plus the queen of South Seattle and a festive letter to a Family Court lawyer

Okay so in the middle of heading back to court, my warrior friend Mellina got very sick (she’s recovering!), and I officiated my beautiful friends’ wedding (congrats, Mary and Jerome!), and I applied for grad school (again! I’m starting in Jan!), and then I thought it’d be a good idea to “foster” this baby skeleton. And now we have a second poodle rescue who lives in our home. Sorry, not sorry, Keri and Teenager Leong. Help us choose a name. Leave your old man suggestions in the comments below.

Hi my never forgotten, misfit fam. And welcome, new subscribers! Around the time of my last RPR issue back in July, my kid and I found ourselves back at it in court. If you’ve been following this ride for a while, you know it’s been a brutal and spectacularly absurd one.

The good news is, Teenager Leong has been safe and happy at home since our return to litigation. It’s a long story, and while we’re not at the end quite yet (that protective parent 18th birthday countdown is REAL), this middle point is a happy one. The Family Court Report will share more down the road, but for now, I’m grateful to be back in your inbox overflowing with unlikely optimism and things to read/listen to/hold on to that I’m especially psyched to share with all of you. Let’s dive in.

SOMETHING TO READ

As a swoopy-haired Sarah Lawrence undergraduate back in my “poetry slam” era, I was obsessed with Dave Eggers’ neurotic and yes, genius, debut memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

(Side note—when Eggers came to speak at SLC, the girl who lived across the hall from me stood up and asked if he would show us all his nipples during Q&A, if anyone wants to know what liberal arts campus life was like in the early 2000’s. He declined. Maybe she was obsessed too? I think we all were.)

ANYWAY. Last week I had a literary dream come true when I had my first piece published by McSweeney’s. Eggers founded the lit journal (as Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern) in 1998, and I’ve been chuckling along to their work ever since I read AWOSG over two decades(!) ago.

So without further ado…here it is! A correspondence for this special time of year that I didn’t realize I’ve been wanting to write for a loonnggg time: An Open Letter to the Family Court Lawyer Who Represented Me in 2012 and Sends Me a Holiday Card Every Year. Happy holidays, all. We’ve got this.

SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO

I sent this out yesterday to RPR subscribers, but in case you missed it, here’s the 12-minute audio feature (and photo essay) I recently produced for the Essential Southeast Seattle Collective.

It’s a story about the American Dream accidentally achieved. It’s a love story with a sad but hopeful ending. It’s a shout out to single moms and hard work and joy and abundance even though life is impossibly unfair sometimes.

The piece is also an offering of deepest gratitude to Fifi Doumbouya who shared her journey with me. Fifi is the unstoppable business woman and humanitarian at the heart of this story who also part of the heartbeat of Seattle’s Rainier Valley community. I spent the afternoon with Fifi at her store over a month a go for this story, and I’m still soaking in all the light that shined all around her that day. Enjoy and please share! Click Fifi’s pic below to listen see the photos.

SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO

Now that I’m a Woman of a Certain Age who is going on year four of working from home, I have to admit that my style’s getting a little weird. After many decades of natural fibers in black mixed occasionally with a daring bit of grey, I’m now really into…jewel tone chenille? Also, glitter Crocs…with fur?! I don’t know what all this means, but I’m here for this midlife makeover.

If you’re also feeling open to some creative style inspo, I strongly urge you to make your way to @wantshowasyoung. That’s the Instagram page of Taiwanese grandparents Hsu Hsiu-e and Chang Wan-ji. The couple has owned a laundromat in Taichung City for the last 70 years. Their posts modeling the clothes their customers leave behind have inspired fashionistas around the world.

Some personal faves: This autumnal lewk with camo cape, this classic pairing giving a nod to 90’s J. Crew catalogues, and last but not least, these 100% perfect fits—the oversized denim, the textured vest, the ATTITUDE. Absolutely dripping with swag. No notes. Cindy Sui with the BCC has the story: Taiwanese laundry-modelling grandparents are surprise Instagram hit.

THAT’S A WRAP ON ISSUE 112.

Thanks for reading, listening, and holding on, friends. I’m just getting back into the swing of things and I have more big life things coming on the horizon, so I’m not quite sure yet what RPR’s issue cadence is going to be moving forward, but I will be back in your inbox more regularly. I’ve missed our crew!

In the meantime, big news coming soon from The Family Court Report! If you want a sneak preview, feel free to check out our new website: familycourtreport.org.

See you in our next issue.

K.