Day: December 17, 2018

Weighted blankets are blankets that have had small weights sewn into them, in an evenly distributed pattern. The goal is to put gentle physical pressure on the sleeping person. People who have sensory processing disorder — which includes many people on the autism spectrum — have found weighted blankets to be a tremendous help to calm them down and get them to sleep.

Hah! Well, this explains a lot. I have spent years trying to convince my husband that I truly, honestly can’t sleep without something heavy lying on me. That’s why I sleep under a heavy blanket and a heavy wrap on top of the blanket even in the summer.

Another thing that people don’t get is that I literally can’t function with overhead light. It throws me off, my brain slows down, I get irritable and confused, it’s not good. Imagine how hard it is for kids with sensory issues if even I’m only now figuring this out.

Is called Charlotte Turner. Read her amazing story here. It’s unbelievably great.

I’m tired of getting asked about this, so yes, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church separated from the Russian Orthodox Church over the weekend. Given that the percentage of people in either country who kind of maybe try to practice the religion is under 3%, this news is entirely meaningless. These are countries that will never be recovered fir religious belief, ever. This has some vague symbolic value but it’s minimal.

Glory to Ukraine, but can I get asked something more meaningful about the country?

I have a progressive friend. Very, very progressive. Totally out there. And she says public schools are ridiculously bad. Her kids are in a highly ranked public school (whatever that means), and it’s very bad. There is barely any recess, almost no playing outside, and mountains of idiotic homework. The 8-year-old is studying the structure of the human ear! This is nuts. Who needs this kind of stuff at 8, especially at the expense of playing outside? (The friend and I are both college professors. We are opposed to homework until the age of 12.)

My friend says she’d put the kids in private school in a blink if she had the money. This is the least snobbish person in the world. Plus, sincerely progressive. The schools must really be bad for her to say that.