I am a little late, but I told myself I wouldn’t post until I finished grading a stack of essays I’ve been grading all month. In an effort to not waste my time giving unread feedback to robot work, I had my students write their argumentative essays by hand for the first time in at least ten years. I was warned that education is an ever-swinging pendulum, but I certainly never thought I’d go back to red pen ways!!! I do think it did the trick — out of ~120 essays, I think only one was written with the assistance of generative AI. My student's’ last day is on Tuesday, and as long as I get my classroom packed up on time, I will be done on Thursday!
I’ve also been working on an important research project… rating all of the mint chocolate chip ice cream pints available at my local grocery store. My definitive ranking is:
I still need to try Talenti’s mint chocolate chip gelato. Don’t even bother with Ben and Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie ice cream. It’s too sweet, and there are entire cookies in the pint, which is great in theory but disappointing in execution.
Also, I completed one of my New Year’s Resolutions!
Reading
The Surprising Ways That Siblings Influence Our Lives by Susan Dominus (NYT gift link)
My husband and I are both grew up as one of four, and I have two step-siblings I gained in my early 20s. I love anything that delves into sibling dynamics, and I am simultaneously heartened and frightened by the realization that our sibling shape us as much as our parents do. My only critique for this piece are that I wish they had chosen a more “normal” family to study in addition to the Groffs and the Chens.
The Motherload by Sarah Hoover
I was going to write a positive review for this book — I am always impressed when people are able to be honest about their experience with matrescence even if they come from extreme privilege! But the news that she wrote about her sister’s stillbirth without her consent prevent me from recommending this book in any way. I believe in separating the art from the artist, but profiting off of someone else’s loss in this way is unforgivable.
Daughterhood by Emily Adrian
THIS is a book about motherhood I can recommend with my whole chest. I have mentioned before how taken I am with Emily’s substack, and her book is even better.
My Husband by Maud Ventura
This reminded me a lot of The Phantom Thread. It’s a fast read with a fun, slightly diabolical twist at the end.
My Parents Expected to Be Retired. Instead, They Are Raising My Sister’s Kids by Frances Dodds (NYT Gift Link)
Jonny’s first job out of law school was handling dependency cases, representing both parents and children. This article reminded me of the struggles he would relay to me. It’s brutal, but worth reading.
Watching
NBA Playoffs (Thanks to the streaming era, I have no idea how we watch this tbh)
I love the NBA playoffs because it gets me to the end of the school year. Great basketball every other night, all fun narratives and rivalries to track. The only team I did NOT want to advance was the Nuggets (Apologies to my dear friend Molly! I do LOVE the nickname Big Honey!). I am also secretly rooting for Tyrese Haliburton to prove all his haters wrong — can you imagine being voted most overrated by your colleagues? I would die. I love that there is a season MVP and a finals MVP because truly those are two different roles and both deserve recognition. I wish Jalen Brunson would change his hairstyle. I love KAT’s goofy face. I love that the Knicks in general feel a kinship with the new pope and Timothee Chalamet AND Spike Lee. I enjoyed that New York City was a main character for a minute because I feel better as an American when NYC is thriving. I love the OKC Thunder and I secretly hope that Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kevin Durant are all in a group chat together cheering for them. I love that three small(er) market teams made the playoffs. I love the NBA!!!
Hacks (HBO Max)
I really enjoy this show. At this point, I watch more for the Kayla/Jimmy story line than anything else, but I love Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart’s enduring chemistry (though I have ZERO desire to see them have a romantic storyline with one another!). I think they need to plan on this being the last season, lest it stretch out too far and lose any of its originality.
The Rehearsal (HBO Max)
We started watching this show after knowing almost nothing about Nathan Fielder’s shtick. We got through about five episodes of season one and then skipped to season two, which is far more ambitious and absurd than season one. This is the closest I can get to enjoying reality TV (unless you argue that sports is reality tv, which I would entertain). I can’t wait to see how it ends.
I’ll be back soon with my summer bucket list!
With love,
Lexie
love your ice cream research!!!
McConnell's anything! There's a MINT COOKIES 'N CREAM -- might need to place a special order for ya, eh? You didn't mention the 5-set, 5-hour tennis saga?!