u/Beerfarts69

After a very wet spring we finally had a break in the weather. We took advantage of Memorial Day. Went out on the boat (myself and FIL chipped in for fuel), had a cook out after with my sibling in laws.

Been grieving the loss of an immediate family member a few days ago. I grieve by delving into tasks. I’m also big into gardening, it’s been very therapeutic.

Anywho, I noticed that BIL/SIL had some weeds in their garden and I wanted to get into it. Like I mentioned, it’s been hard to get out since it’s been raining a ton. I asked BIL if he minded if I picked some weeds. He said sure, please do! SIL’s lightly joked about volunteering me for making a new garden and other yard work as a family event.

Tickled pink, I did some minor weeding, uprighted a few solar lights. Discarded the scraps. 10 mins max. I nearly asked for a shovel to get the prickly bastards out. But I didn’t.

Today my partner mentioned that it came off disrespectful and because it could be taken as an insult that they don’t take care of their space.

They do! The gardens are pretty and are maintained. Just some stubborn weeds.

It’s a minor disagreement, but I want to know if I was out of line. His family does tend to be very kind and goes with the flow. Did I do a faux pas?

It’s not what you think.

I inherited a Nutria fur coat (step great-aunt). I understand it’s a controversial topic. This coat is likely from the 40’s, long before I could have a say in its origins. I’d prefer that the one thing I have of my family member isn’t left to waste/rot.

With that said, it has some need of repair in the shoulder area. A relative had it looked at in the state it came from, and they reported that “nothing could be done”. I’d like to have a local professional take a look and see if it could be repaired. It’s a long shot, but any recommendations?

I have never felt so defensive of women until today.

I’ll preface that I have spent many years escaping an oppressive upbringing mindset from family and friends. I’ve made a point to be open, engaging, and not like those who I was surrounded by.

I went to a sporting event today that was new to me. It was a women’s league. The announcer made statements at the beginning about the inclusive space, safety of the players, being lewd or sexually harassing the players would result in an 86 from the venue.

I’m bi, I was prepared for this message and greatly appreciated it. Seeing fellow women of all shapes and sizes, glitz and glam…was something I was looking forward to. The event was at a bar. But I knew I was in a safe place and I had the itch to get involved in the future.

The environment felt energizing, and the sport itself (roller derby). It didn’t feel foreign because I played rugby in high school.

We were right next to the scorekeepers. They were awesome about getting us involved in the game, teaching us rules, explaining penalties etc.

They mentioned their leagues, where they travel to, and the winning Rec team in the region gets to go to Sweden to compete. (AWESOME!!)

The scorekeeper also mentioned that while this is the women’s league, they also have an all-gender league too. Which is very cool, giving inclusivity to join in with women on their sport.

Then I noticed a player on the women’s team was MtF, masc presenting. She dominated the floor. She could blow through any defender. Even got 28 points in one round to tie it up.

Honestly, this did make me furious. Knowing that there is an “all gender” league.

Off my chest, I feel that transgender folks should be involved in the all-gender league. Why join the woman’s league that you can easily dominate?

It wasn’t even fun watching a MtF oust other women. It wasn’t exciting. As soon as she was on the floor she dominated.

This took me right out of the moment to be honest. It was difficult to digest.

What a shame.

Folks out there are angered at the segregation the OIC put into place recently. I find myself now in support of it.