retrogirlwrites

[retrogirlwrites]

all the tips I found for drawing a fantasy map are like :) “here’s a strategy to draw the land masses! here’s how to plot islands!” :) and that’s wonderful and I love them all but ??? how? do y'all decide where to put cities/mountains/forests/towns I have my map and my land but I’m throwing darts to decide where the Main Citadel where the Action Takes Place is

[retrogirlwrites]

Such Colorful Lives Legacy Challenge

Here are graphics I made for the Such Colorful Lives Legacy Challenge created by @starry-sky-sims!

Enjoy!

[retrogirlwrites]

Lucid Legacy Challenge!

Welcome to my 10 generation Lucid Legacy Challenge!

Creating my very own legacy challenge has been a dream of mine for years. Im so proud of how this challenge came out and, most importantly, I hope you love it just as much!

Sims challenges are not meant to restrict you! Each generation will have goals and descriptions, but everything can and should be customized to your gameplay style!

Check out the video overview of this challenge HERE

If you play this legacy challenge please #LucidLegacyChallenge or tag me so I can check it out! I'm so excited to see what you create. I hope you enjoy and let's get into it:

Gen One

Farmer Family

The simple life is the life for you! Tending to your farm, nightly family dinners, and knowing everyone in your community. You're living the small town dream. You and your partner are best friends! Not only best friends, but almost the same person. You have the same goals in life and help each other achieve them! Working together to grow your garden and take care of your animals is only the beginning. Once you started having children, something you've always dreamed of, your farm only expanded from there! Everyone in the house has their own jobs; whether that be cleaning, gardening, cooking, tending to animals, etc. You make money by selling your own products and over time, you become the biggest family run farm in town! Although you love all your children, as you get older you realize there needs to be someone to pass your land onto. You've worked so hard on it your whole life after all! Out of all of your children, there seems to be a clear choice on who it should be. You live your last days preparing this child to run the farm once you pass, and feel comfort in knowing they will continue your legacy!

Goals:

Have the Family Oriented and Loves Outdoors traits

Complete the Country Caretaker Aspiration

Max the gardening skill

Must live on at least a 50x40 lot

Start on only a portion of your lot, expand throughout your life until the entire lot is farm land

Have a partner with the same aspiration as you (wether you create them in CAS or meet them in game)

Have at least 3 children with your partner

Win at least 2 town fair contests

Have Simple Living lot challenge on home lot

Unlock the People Person lifestyle

Gen Two

Content Creator

Although they would never admit it, you have always been the outcast in your family. Things that came naturally to them were always undesirable to you. You love them and they love you, but that doesn't change the obvious. When they were all getting dirty outdoors, you were in your room in your own little world. Video gaming is your number one passion! After attempting to conform to farm life your whole childhood, your parents ended up getting you a computer as a teen and your world changed from there. Playing games, streaming, watching other gamers, making friends online- you realized for the first time ever just how big the world is beyond your small town! Your teen life was spent staying up as late as possible and gaming until you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore. After becoming a young adult and being immersed in fantasy worlds for years, you decide to move to the city for a fresh start! Talk about culture shock, everything was different here from where you grew up! Luckily for you, you meet your future spouse soon after moving which makes the transition a lot easier. You start your streaming/YouTube career and blow up! Your videos become so popular that you become a B-lister! You're known as a down to earth celebrity to most, probably because of the way you grew up. In fact, most of the money you earn goes straight to your child! Your parents let you be exactly who you were despite it being very different from them, and you want to do the same thing for your child. Even if that means spoiling them rotten!

Goals:

Have the Squeamish trait

Complete 2/4 parts of the Tech Guru aspiration

Become famous by streaming, posting videos, etc.

Make and sell your own video game

Move to the city as a young adult

Mary someone from the city, who you meet once moving there

Max the Media Production and Video Gaming skills

Unlock the Techie and Coffee Fanatic lifestyles

Have only one child who is very spoiled

Become at least a 3 star celebrity

Gen Three

Disillusioned Dreamer

You can achieve anything you want to- right? Growing up being an only child, you were the apple of your parent's eyes. Okay maybe that's an understatement. You got everything you wanted growing up. You wanted a pet? They got two for you. You wanted to travel? They brought you anywhere in the world. You decided you wanted to be a musician? They bought you the most expensive instruments to choose from. In fact, that's exactly what happened! Your parent was famous for their passion, so why can't it be the same for you? You fell in love with making music and, more importantly, the idea of being famous. One day you will go on a world tour and be the most famous musician in the world!! Fast forward to your adult life: you're living in a place payed for by your parents, you spend a lot of time at bars and parties, and (worst of all) you're not famous for your music. Why are all your dreams not coming true? You spend many nights performing on the street, at cafes, at bars, or anywhere really. The only good thing to come out of these performances was meeting your spouse. After a long defeating night of playing music to strangers who couldn't care less, you meet the one person who took the time to listen and appreciate your music! Someone finally understanding your musical genius? It felt like love at first sight Your parents ended up buying you a music store for you to run once they realized your music career was most likely not taking off (of course they didn't say that part to you). While you loved owning your own business centered around music, you knew it wasn't your life calling Even though your dreams never became reality, you never stopped hoping. You constantly told your kids (and anyone who would listen) that one day you will tour the world as a musician! You'll show them one day...

Goals:

Have the world famous celebrity aspiration, but do not complete it

Have the music lover and Self absorbed traits

Maintain at least 'good friend' level friendship with both of your parents throughout your life

Go all in on different hobbies as a child until you find music

Perform on streets, bars, coffee shops, your music store, etc.

Marry someone you meet while performing

Own music store (retail) bought by your parents (you can use money cheats for this if it's easier)

Max mixology skill

Unlock Junk Food Fiend lifestyle

Have a pregnancy, get someone pregnant, or adopt multiples (Twins, Triplets, etc.)

Gen Four

Bohemian Backpacker

You've always been a 'go with the flow' type of person. Most of your relationship with your parent growing up was them telling you how they will 'travel the world one day'. Of course they were talking about their delusions of being famous, but all you heard was 'travel'. Every once in a while, while hanging out at your parent's music store as a kid, you'd meet someone from a part of the world you've never been to. You always had a million questions and wanted to experience it for yourself, but where should you live as an adult? The answer: everywhere! You decide to pack everything up and see the world! From the beaches of Sulani to the snowy peak of Mt. Komerebi, you want to experience it all! If there was a non-materialistic trait, you would have it. Material possessions only distract people from appreciating Mother Nature anyway! You (and your partner) sell photographs or collectables to get by, but the goal for you is never to make a lot of money. In true free spirit fashion, you never get married. I mean who needs a piece of paper to prove how much you love someone? You still have kid(s) and have a beautiful and healthy relationship. That's all that matters. You spend your life embracing different cultures and appreciating the beauty of the world.

Goals:

Complete either The Curator or Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration

Have Loves Outdoors and Cheerful traits

Max Photography and Herbalism Skills

Unlock Frequent Traveler and Outdoorsy lifestyles

Have at least one child and live with your partner, but never get married or engaged

Live in at least 5 sim worlds in your life

Never have a "normal" home. Live in: a treehouse, van/RV life, a cabin, a boathouse, etc.

Never have a job, make money by selling things

Gen Five

Remote Writer

If there was a contest for most introverted person in the world, you wouldn't even enter because that sounds too social for you. The only company you need is your own mind. Besides, when you grow up moving around as much as you did, it's hard to make connections with other people. Luckily, that's just how you like it. Your parent was obsessed with seeing the world, but you're obsessed with creating your own worlds. You've wanted to be a writer for as long as you could remember. You acted like an adult even as a child. Your parent's view of the world was definitely not shared by you. In fact, you wasted no time in moving out on your own. Finally it was time to live life your way- the right way. The only thing you didn't expect or plan was meeting your partner. Most of your relationship was formed online instead of in person, Which is how you preferred it. Once you did meet in person though, you moved in together and eloped as soon as possible! I guess when you know, you know. You spend most of your time writing in your office and having your daily routine that you don't change. Even writing best selling novels and having kids doesn't make you stray from your norm. That is until you have a new idea for your next book... You become obsessed with the paranormal! You even decide to move your family into a secluded haunted house in order to write this book. Which is without a doubt the most spontaneous thing you've ever done in your life, maybe even more than getting married so quickly. You end up leaving behind a legacy of books you wrote and the family you had... but most importantly the books.

Goals:

Complete the Best-selling Author aspiration

Have loner trait

Max writing skill

Unlock Indoorsy lifestyle

Meet someone/form relationship online, get married and have kids fast when meeting

Rarely leave your house

Never has good friend, besides maybe your family

Live on off the grid lot type (the haunted house)

Move into a secluded haunted house as an adult.

Name children after famous authors and/or famous literary characters

Gen Six

Spooky Soulmates

You've always been a believer in fate. Growing up was hard in a family like yours. Never having many social interactions and having been raised by your strange parents, you've always been a little different. Thanks to fate, you meet someone as a child who is just like you! You two always seem to click and there's times when you feel like the same person. After being best friends, you start dating as teenagers because it just felt right. To be honest, you've been in love with them your whole life! When your parent moved your family into a haunted house, fate struck again. You couldn't believe there's this whole other part of the world out there, and at the same time it made complete sense! The only person who believed you though was your partner. Being the only person to confide in about this made your bond that much stronger (if that was even possible). After the initial shock of learning about the paranormal, you realized there's a reason it came into your life. You're a medium. No wonder why you've always felt so different! Your whole life now made sense and you can see how you've been pulled to this destiny. You even hone your skills enough to eventually become a paranormal investigator! Once you and your partner get married, you buy a house of your own that is not haunted. When it comes to your career, while you're very passionate about it, you decide it's best to not bring work home with you if you can help it. As much as your job means to you, your relationship was and always will be the center on your world. You fill your home with beautiful memories and children. Growing old together with your best friend and soulmate, you are endlessly thankful to the universe for bringing you two together.

Goals:

Complete the Soulmate aspiration

Have the Romantic and Loyal traits

Meet someone as a child who becomes your best friend and partner

Max the Medium Skill

Own a cat as an adult

Become a freelance paranormal investigator, work in a part time job until you can join this career

Once married, have a date night with your partner at least once a week

Have at least 4 kids

You and your partner have a gothic aesthetic

Have a vow renewal with your spouse as an adult or elder

Gen Seven

Furry Friends Furever

Animals are so much better than humans. Your family cat growing up was your best friend! You were always a little socially awkward, but animals never judged you. You took your pet to the vet anytime they needed it, and it was there that your animal fixation grew. Adults can spend all day with animals instead of other people? Why wouldn't everyone do that?? You grew up seeing your parents have the most perfect relationship ever and thought that you should have the same thing, so you married your first ever partner just like they did. Only for you, it wasn't meant to be. After having kids with your spouse, you both realize you can't force the relationship anymore. You decide to get a divorce and split custody of the kids. Even when it's the right thing to do, divorce is hard, so you decide to focus on what makes you happy- your business. Your vet office ends up thriving after throwing yourself into your work. No more forcing things that aren't meant to be! You end up never getting remarried or having another long term relationship again. Some people (like your parents) would feel empty without a partner to share their life with, but you spend your life with your animals and children. You wouldn't have it any other way.

Goals:

Complete Friend of the Animals aspiration

Have the Socially Awkward and either Cat Lover, Dog lover, or Animal Enthusiast traits.

Become companions with every pet you have.

Have at least 3 types of animals on home lot at a time: cat, dog, fish, hamster, bees, cow, chicken, llama, etc.

Own/run a vet office

Get divorced after having child/kids

Split custody with ex spouse (ie. use manage worlds to move the kids back and forth)

Max veterinarian skill

Drastically change hair after divorce

Never remarry

Gen Eight

Healing Heart

You try to spread peace everywhere you go. Watching your parents go through a divorce when you were a kid really changed you. You didn't understand why they couldn't just get along or why they got together in the first place if they ended up being so different? You hated when people fought and that's all you saw from them growing up. You make it your mission in life to spread light and joy everywhere you go because there's just not enough of it! You work in the self-care industry teaching yoga, giving massages, doing nails, and overall trying to make people feel good. You try to always practice what you preach, living a healthy lifestyle yourself. You tend to stay away from romantic relationships because of what happened with your parents. You love the idea of falling in love and spending your life with someone, but the hurt that could come from that just isn't worth it to you. In a possible lapse of judgment, you have a one night stand with your best friend. It definitely wasn't planned but the result will be permanent because... you end up having a baby together! Despite this, you decide not to start dating. You're too worried it would ruin your friendship or, worse, end in you two breaking up and making your child go through the same thing you did. That's your biggest fear. You remain best friends as you raise your child together, always living right next to each other and being very hands on parents. There's times where you find yourself wanting more, but your inner voice talks you out of it every time. Until... One day, your child already being a teenager at this point, your best friend confesses their love for you! You've both always felt it, but neither of you acted on it until now (and when your child was conceived of course). The thing that you've lived your whole life thinking was your biggest fear, suddenly didn't seem so bad. The unthinkable happened. Your mind set changed in an instant and you didn't want to spend another second not being with your person. You feel a weight being lifted from you when you finally allow yourself to love. You didn't know happily ever after existed until you experienced it yourself, and you live the rest of your life being head over heels in love!

Goals:

Complete Self-care Specialist aspiration

Have the Vegetarian and Cheerful traits

Max Wellness skill

Unlock the Health Food Nut and Energetic lifestyles

Make money by teaching yoga and giving massages and manicures

Have a one night stand with best friend resulting in a child

Do not start dating baby's other parent until they are a teenager

Before getting together, always live right next door to best friend and raise baby together

Help your child raise their first child

Gen Nine

Quirky Creations

You're a thrift store come to life. For as long as you can remember, people have always described you as quirky. You gladly accept this label! You try and make just about everything you can from scratch. Need a new pair of socks? You knit them! Want a candle for your room? You hand dip one! Your room growing up becomes a collection of various nicknacks and your own artistic creations. You start dating someone as a teen who you don't have a lot in common with- a result of teen rebellion maybe? Well, one thing lead to another and you end up having a baby! You tell your partner and they don't end up being as excited as you to say the least. They end your relationship and refuse to be in your child's life. Of course this isn't how you wanted things to go, but they made their decision and you make yours. You're so excited to be a parent and luckily have the help of your own parents. As your baby gets a little older, you realize you'll need to find reliable income and live independently at some point! You always sold your creations on Plopsy, but you're too extroverted to do that forever. You decide to open a little shop where you sell your own creations as well as other vintage goods! This shop is the physical version of your personality- Quirky! From old books, to clothes, to antiques; if you can find or make it, you sell it! As luck would have it, you meet your future spouse at your own store! Your personalities match perfectly and they even embrace your child as their own- and you do the same! Both being single parents is something that bonded you from the beginning. You get married and have even more kids together! Your big blended family ends up being your favorite creation you've ever made.

Goals:

Complete either the Painter Extraordinaire, Master Maker, or Lord/Lady of the Knits aspiration

Have the Creative and Maker traits

Have first baby as a teen or early young adult, other parent not in life

Run an antique/thrift store (retail)

Unlock the People Person lifestyle

Marry as a young adult to someone who is also a single parent

Have more kids once married

Decorate home by making/thrifting everything

You and spouse adopt each other's children as care dependents

Max at least three of these skills: Fabrication, Handiness, Painting, Flower Arranging, Knitting, or Cross Stitch.

Gen Ten

Occult Obsessed

If you could choose to change your identity, what would you pick? You discovered your life purpose the day you found a book on occults as a kid. Your parents shop was always collecting old books that you liked to go through. You loved reading but the subject of the book never stuck with you until now. Are Vampires real? Mermaids? Spell Casters and Werewolves?? At first you loved learning more about this world of fantasy, but then that fantasy became a reality. Being a person of logic, you learn everything you can about each occult, but it wasn't enough. Once you become a young adult you decide to set out to find answers first hand. After traveling to what felt like each corner of the world, you end up meeting someone of each different occult type. You learn from them, even the interactions that aren't as friendly show you so much about their world. Each time you think you should be satisfied with the knowledge you've gathered, you only want to know more. After your travels, you decide there's only one thing to do. Become an occult. You pick the occult that you've grown the most obsessed with and do whatever it takes to become one yourself! Moving forward you completely immerse yourself in this occult and the community you have as a result.

Goals:

Find a book about an occult in your parents store as a kid

Read/research about these occult types: mermaid, spell caster, vampire, and werewolf

Max logic skill

Have book worm trait

Travel as a young adult to meet each four occults.

Pick an occult to become once you've met every one.

Goals for the Occult You Pick:

Vampire:

Become a vampire

Have at least 3 vampire friends

Reach rank 5

Complete either the Vampire Family, Master Vampire, or Good Vampire aspiration

Spell Caster:

Become a Spell Caster

Have at least 3 Spell Caster friends

Complete either Purveyor of Potions or Spellcraft and Sorcery aspirations

Reach rank 6

Mermaid:

Become a mermaid

Have at least 3 mermaid friends

Live on the water

Become friends with a dolphin

Use siren call and/or siren lullaby

Werewolf:

Become a werewolf

Have at least 3 werewolf friends

Complete either the Lone Wolf, Emissary of the Collective, or Wildfang Renegade aspiration

Reach rank 5

Special thank you to @thesimallie and MsLuxito (on twitter) for reading through this challenge, giving me their feedback, and helping me finalize everything! Go check them out!

Get creative, have fun, and good luck!

[retrogirlwrites]

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has trouble remembering developmental milestones. I put these together, but can’t take credit for any of the photography. Hope someone finds them helpful!

#child development #writing tips

[retrogirlwrites]

i do not agree with many of the things police officers and police departments are doing today, and i know this is nothing new

however

my cousin’s ex husband was on LAPD barely seven years when he fired his gun on duty for the first time in 2014

my grandfather was in law enforcement for 40 years (1954-1994) and never once fired his gun off of the practice range

i may disagree with the fundamental policies that exist in the united states military and police forces, but that does not mean i am not proud of the service my grandfather gave to this country as a marine and a LEO

above is a part of the yearly newsletter from the museum of northwest colorado

my grandfather was born in alamosa, but raised on ferndale ranch just north of craig, co, the county seat of moffatt county where the museum is located. my grandmother was raised in hamilton, a tiny town about 15 miles from craig. they were married in january 1951 and soon left colorado as my grandfather was shipping out with the marine corps.

they moved to southern california in 1953 and my grandfather started at the los angeles police academy. he retired from lapd as a lieutenant in 1980, after taking a position as chief of police in his hometown of craig. he spent 14 years as chief there, retiring in 1994. my grandparents remained in craig until moving back to southern california to be nearer their five children in 1999. they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2001, and my grandmother passed away from lung cancer two weeks later.

my grandfather will have his 93rd birthday in nine days. he was diagnosed with alzheimer’s six years ago, and he no longer recognizes any of his children or grandchildren. little things like that newsletter remind me of how deeply respected and loved he was and is, not only by his family.

#family #history

[retrogirlwrites]

i don’t know why there’s suddenly a waterfall of oldest child/eldest daughter songs sneaking into my life, but i don’t hate it

it tells me that my experience isn’t only mine

that there are a lot of us that grew up too fast

linking a few of my favorites below

these songs just get me thinking, you know

i was 2 1/2 when my brother was born 10 weeks before he was supposed to be. i was still a baby myself and even then i knew my job in life was to protect him, this tiny little boy that would one day (in the not too distant future) tower above me.

i was 5 when my sister was born. my eyes lit up the moment i saw her, with her bright red hair, and did not go back to normal for months.

i was 11 when i sat awake while my siblings slept, listening to our parents fight. i knew then that the end was coming. mommy and mama hid it from them. so did i.

i was 13 when the end came. two words and my life fell apart. but breaking down isn’t part of the job description, so i buried my feelings and held my sister while she cried.

i grew up too fast. i became the maker of lunches, the homework help, the hairdresser.

16 was the tipping point. i had a drivers license and a mental breakdown that no one saw. i drove my brother to guitar lessons and theater rehearsals, my sister to piano and softball. i did the grocery shopping more often than not, the laundry on the weekends or afternoons. i did my homework in my car waiting for siblings at lessons and practices, keeping those straight As that everyone had come to expect from me.

i was accepted to university at 18. i graduated high school with a 4.2 gpa and a state merit diploma. i got another piercing and a new tattoo and moved into my dorm as soon as they would let me.

then came the guilt. my siblings were 15 and 13 and i was leaving them.

they still call me for advice or mom’s netflix password. my sister facetimes me with the high school gossip and my brother sends me drunk snapchats from his college parties.

i’m still the golden child (and at times the family disappointment)

always and forever the oldest

#eldest daughter #oldest child #siblings #family #mental health #Spotify

[retrogirlwrites]

You have been sentenced to death in a magical court. The court allows all prisoners to pick how they die and they will carry it out immediately. You have it all figured out until the prisoner before you picks old age and is instantly transformed into a dying old man. Your turn approaches.

#oh my god i adore this #short story #not mine #story prompt

[retrogirlwrites]

I. I need all the alignment chart memes. All. All of them. My hands are shaking. Please.

AIGHT YALL RB THIS POST WITH YOUR ALIGNMENT CHART BLANKS FOR THIS ANON

#saving #don’t judge

[retrogirlwrites]

a lot of people assume that because i have two moms, i don’t celebrate or observe father’s day, and there’s a little bit of truth to that

i don’t have a dad, i’ve never wanted or felt that i needed a dad, so there are years where father’s day comes and goes and i don’t even realize it

but i do have father figures in my life and i do celebrate them

so, this year i remembered

to my grandpa glen

i love you more than anything. i miss you so, so much. i miss the grandpa that made me shirley temples and talked baseball with me and told me stories about jack webb and always insisted on being in the picture

i miss the grandpa that gave me his dragnet tapes just because i asked, the grandpa that cried when i was born two months after grandma died

seeing you today is very different. alzheimer’s is a hell of a disease

but you are still my grandpa, i still love you more than anything in the world, and i will always be your girl

to my grandpa lyle

thank you for taking me out to ride mississippi bareback in my pajamas, no matter what my parents said. thank you for teaching me how to fish and kneeboard and taking me tubing even when you didn’t really want to. thank you for teaching me how to play cribbage and pinochle.

because of you, montana is my home just as much as california is. i am still a country girl at heart.

grandma is the talker, but you are the one who asks how the giants are doing this season. you’re the one who wears your cal poly sweatshirt (to aunt marlene’s house, because your grandchildren are smarter than hers) and never fails to tell me how proud you are.

i love you so much

to my godfather scott

thank you for being my math tutor, advice giver, and trivial pursuit opponent. one day, i’m going to beat you. that’s a promise :) i wish we lived closer, because two years is way too long to not see you.

you are one of my biggest cheerleaders, never giving up on me even when my parents have no idea what classes i’m taking and i feel like i’m drowning in physics equations

i love talking baseball with you, especially when the giants are playing the phillies

i miss you like crazy and i can’t wait to see you again

#father’s day #fatherless daughters #grandpa #godfather #i love you

[retrogirlwrites]

dear grandma,

mommy is taking christmas down by herself this weekend. i’m at school, and cuyler and teagan are at mama’s house. i know how much she hates it because i hate it too. putting the decorations up is always much more fun than taking them down. she texted me earlier, asking if my bell from mallory had its own box. it’s a bell like the ones you had, we have a few of yours now too but a while ago mallory got me one for the cousin ornament exchange. the exchange has kind of fizzled out by now... there’s only six of us now without kids and families and they all have their own christmas traditions. but we exchanged ornaments for years after you died. it was kim’s doing - she matched up all our names and we traded ornaments because you always gave your grandkids ornaments every year. cuy and teag never got them. i have the one you made the christmas that mommy was pregnant. did you know, grandma? did you know that you wouldn’t be there for my first christmas? teagan and i do have those lace angels, too. the ones you got all the granddaughters one year. when mommy and the sibs were going through the garage at meadow mont, they found two of them and since all the other girl cousins already have theirs mommy brought them home for us. 

your anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks. it would be 69 years this year. it’s hard to believe, especially thinking that you and grandpa were married 50 years. in a month it will be 19 years since you died, and i won’t be 19 for another three months. 

---another old draft i want to continue---

i turned 20 a month ago

20 years, three months, and 16 days ago we lost you forever

i miss you a lot

i think about you all the time, but you know that

i got a message last week from a spiritual medium

and i don’t know if it was really meant for me, if it was really you

but i’m choosing to believe it was

because i miss you and i want so desperately to connect with you 

grandpa, too

you would’ve been married 70 years in January

i marked the anniversary like i always do

grandpa is too far gone to remember, now

uncle john and aunt deanna can get him to remember your name but that’s about it

mommy and cuyler and teagan saw him on saturday

we haven’t seen him in so long, it’s been almost a year and half since i’ve seen him

i’m going down in july

but this visit was good

he didn’t know who they were but when mommy told him about me and that i wasn’t there because i was at college studying engineering she said his eyes lit up

it’s hard, being without you

i know you and grandpa are both proud of me

but sometimes, i want to hear you say it

jonathan and michelle are having a baby

a girl, they’re going to name her evelyn

she’s due in early july and every time i remember that i wonder if she’ll get to share a birthday with you

i miss you grandma

i love you

#old draft #grandma #family #fuck you cancer

[retrogirlwrites]

It hurt when my mom broke up with her

Not as much as when my parents divorced - nothing can rival that

---this is an old draft that i discovered and want to continue---

i miss her

now, my mama is dating another woman, Michelle

they've been together almost three years now and they're moving in together this summer

i love her, she's great

but there's still a part of me that misses Terri

she really cared about me, about all of us

and hell, i still text her sometimes

parents' relationships are weird and strange

and i don't think my mama fully understands how her girlfriends have impacted my life and my siblings' lives

but they have

i don't regret that at all

it just takes a lot of processing

#lizzie rambles #old draft #parents #divorce

[retrogirlwrites]

the more i think about it the more i realize

my love language is quality time

and realizing that

i realize why i struggle so much sometimes

especially this year

why unanswered texts hurt so much and why being unable to call or talk in person is so difficult

when i care about someone, love someone

i want to spend all the time i can with them

i answer texts right away

i miss people

and it hurts

it’s a deep, aching feeling

being far away from everyone i love is physically painful

i'm thinking about it more as i'm planning my summer

i'm not going home, not for more than a couple of weeks

i'm staying in my college town, the place i now consider home, and working as an orientation leader for my school

and i'm so excited

it's a gorgeous place, i'm looking forward to the beach and spending time outside and also leading orientation

but i'm also so, so sad

i won't be going to montana with my siblings and cousins to spend time with my grandparents

i won't get to see my best friends

and that will be really hard

i need that time

#lizzie rambles #ramblings #my writing

[retrogirlwrites]

it’s scary when the people you rail against online happen to be those in your own family

and what can you do?

you try to educate

explain

in this case, explain why a publishing company deciding to discontinue the publishing of six books out of a collection of hundreds is not an attack that will somehow lead to the banning of the bible

and that america is not and never was a christian nation, no matter what you learned at the church of christ

and they don’t listen and they don’t care and eventually you block them and stop listening because it’s too hard

where do you draw the line

i still love you, because you are family

i don’t like you, and i don’t agree with the way you live your life

sounds familiar, doesn’t it

isn’t that what you said to me when i came out

feels different to be on the other side

for both of us

i still love you, because you are family

but i cannot talk to or be around someone who blindly follows a dictator and votes for people who vote for policies that will directly harm me and my family

maybe you’re a one issue voter

maybe you’re voting for them because you really care about abortion, or gun rights, or whatever

that doesn’t change the fact that the people you want in office want to hurt me

that is something i cannot forgive

i gave you a chance and you just continued spouting your lies

saying that this was “just another step in the attack on america’s christian values”

and you refuse to realize that america’s values and christian values are not the same

you call yourself unbiased because you don’t watch fox news

but you get your news directly from the man who led our country to the brink and all the people who followed him there

am i biased? sure

do you know why?

because i spent four years living in fear

grateful to live in a liberal state because maybe when the government collapsed i, as a neurodivergent queer woman, might have a chance at survival

not if, when

because i know that if you didn’t live in colorado on a limited income

you, too, would’ve been at the capitol on january 6

will i ever say this to your face?

hell no

but it needed to be said

i’m tired of the attacks from all sides

and the cries of “attack” from people who know nothing about what it actually means to be attacked for who you are, for who you love, for the way you were born

you chose to call yourself a christian

i did not choose to be gay

i did not choose to be neurodivergent

our siblings of color did not choose to be black, or asian, or native

our disabled siblings did not choose to be disabled

you will never understand the realities we face

i will never understand the realities they face

but i will try

and that is where we are different

•

#poetry #politics #family

[retrogirlwrites]

i am the product of the dreams of generations

edith eileen

fern

shirley judy

deanna lisa

dorene leah

alison melissa

melanie

joanna alyssa

dawn carlin

kimberly brylea

nicole teagan

danielle

mallory

carlin

teagan

lexie

laney

brooke

emma

victoria

“everyone has heard stories of women like us - cautionary tales, morality plays, warnings of what will befall you if you are a girl too wild for the world, a girl who asks too many questions or wants too much. if you set off into the world alone. everyone has heard stories of women like us, and now we will make more of them.”

Happy International Women’s Day 2021

#international women’s day #family history #generations

[retrogirlwrites]

In the fall of 1950 Shirley Ottens was 17 years old and studying architecture at the University of Colorado. Glen Sherman was 22 and was getting ready to leave his father’s homestead in Moffat County to enlist in the Marine Corps.

On January 23, 1951 Shirley Ottens became Shirley Sherman. She left CU to get married and start her family.

Their first daughter was born in 1952 while Glen was serving in the USMC. By the time their second daughter was born in 1955 they had left Colorado and were living in the San Fernando Valley because Glen had just started with the LAPD. They had three more children there, and Shirley went back to school at Cal State Northridge to get her degree in social work.

In 1980, when most of their children were adults, Glen retired from LAPD and took a job as Chief of Police in their hometown of Craig, Colorado. Their youngest daughter moved back to Colorado with him that summer, but Shirley stayed in California for an extra year to finish her Master’s degree.

She joined him in ‘81 and they lived in Craig, but traveled all over the world, until they returned to Southern California in 1999.

In 2001 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with all of their children and grandchildren. At the time it was five kids and ten grandkids with one more on the way. It was the last time the two of them and all of their five children were together outside of the hospital. Shirley died two weeks later of lung cancer.

This is the only picture I have that I can even make an argument of having a photo with my grandmother. My mom, on the far left, was seven months pregnant. I would be born on April 19.

My grandparents are my greatest inspiration. Even now they stand as the beginning of our family. We label ourselves as Glen and Shirley Sherman’s descendants. Today, 70 years after their wedding, they have five kids, thirteen grandkids, and seventeen great grandkids. I will forever consider it my greatest blessing that I was born into this family. I carry their name with pride. Grandma, Grandpa, I love you both. Happy Anniversary.

[retrogirlwrites]

self discovery is a journey

that’s what they all say

it’s not a phrase you understand, though

until you’ve lived it

when i was 15 a girl in my band class asked me out as a joke

both of us knew she wasn’t serious

but it got me thinking

at 15 i realized maybe i wasn’t 100% straight

i found asexual

and it seemed to fit

biromantic, maybe, but that wasn’t quite right

homoromantic, demiromantic?

by the time i was 17 i settled on aromantic

aromantic and asexual

then oriented aroace because i was definitely attracted to girls

what kind of attraction?

well aesthetic, queerplatonic, maybe sensual too

then i was 18 and thinking maybe i’m not as asexual as i thought i was

graysexual fits better

and maybe i’m not aromantic either

quoiromantic sounds more like me

and i’m a lesbian

i’m gay

i like girls

i finally truly came to terms with my attraction, i didn’t have to hide it anymore

now i’m 19

i’m a graysexual quoiromantic lesbian

i use she/they pronouns

gender is a whole other story

i always just figured i was cis

being a woman didn’t really bother me

maybe it wasn’t the perfect label but it was okay

but then i tried they/them pronouns and i kind of liked it

a lot

she/her is okay too but

they/them is really nice

right now my label is demigirl

only to myself

haven’t told anyone else

i’m a woman, sure

but not completely

some days i’d rather just be a person

genderless, unperceived

so

demigirl

for now

graysexual quoiromantic lesbian demigirl

self discovery is a journey

it can’t be rushed

that’s what they say

you don’t understand it though

until you’ve lived it

i’ve lived it

i’m still living it

#self discovery #personal #poetry rambles #poetry #rambles #queer #gay #demigirl #she/they #ace spectrum #aro spectrum #wlw

[retrogirlwrites]

this video will never not make me cry

especially now, i am so so grateful to have these pictures and videos of my grandpa

this is the grandpa i remember

i was not quite two weeks old here

my grandma had passed away three months earlier

and there he was

insisting on being in the video with his youngest grandchild

his new granddaughter

grandpa, i love you

i am so proud to be your granddaughter

#family #grandpa