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Dawn Batson

@dawnbatson

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The gut reaction is almost always to dissect her motivation for speaking. Did she want to be seen as a hero? Was she sufficiently humble? Is she attention seeking? Does she subconsciously or consciously like how it feels to identify as a victim? Is she too angry? Is she blowing what happened out of proportion? We’re just so suspicious of women. Even if we believe them!

It’s absurd to pretend we can’t change society or public opinion with social media. It happens all the time. And yes, the conversation needs room for nuance, the complexities of consent, questions about agency and infantilization. And then we need to talk about repair, and how taking accountability in a carceral society can carry consequences that make admitting harm kind of impossible. There is no way to have the conversation in a way that isn’t messy and scary and painful and full of mistakes. But it starts with reflecting on the way we always shift the focus, as a gut reaction, to the person speaking about being harmed.

By the way, the person who wrote these messages to me is a friend I’ve known and loved for my entire adult life. 99% of the knife twisting responses I’ve gotten about this came from people I was close to. by @dawnbatson

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6 days ago

This is not posed. She’s genuinely reading Louise Gluck in this sweater waiting for the light to change. by @dawnbatson

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8 days ago

Come hang out with us at The Hermosillo in Highland Park this Saturday 12-3! They have great beer, wine and n/a selection and great food.

Bring the babies and the dogs! Come meet some other cute families and make some new friends. We’d especially love to see some of our past families and all the babies who aren’t babies anymore! 🤍

Very casual, everyone welcome. We’d love to see you. taken in The Hermosillo by @dawnbatson

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25 days ago

“We rarely have the safety of leaving one house of beliefs when we can clearly see the new house ahead lighted and warm. More often, we need to leave the old without any promise of the new, need to spend time as forest dwellers, just surviving. If we do survive, we find that we are no longer handmaidens to an outer authority that rules by principle rather than loving mutuality; we have reached a new cycle of maturity where we are consciously connected to our hearts, our bodies, our deepest values, and the people we love.”
-Marion Woodman by @dawnbatson

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a month ago

This is what we are doing with our last summer here.
(Also Daisy is living the dream with @denisesarah on her way to living in the red woods!!!) by @dawnbatson

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3 months ago

Daisy’s family moved away and left her roaming the streets of my neighborhood, so @ri0tmom and I spent four hours winning her over and luring her and her four million fleas into my home till 1:30 am last night. It has been confirmed that the family doesn’t want her. She’s lived exclusively outdoors, but seems house trained. She’s a *dream* dog, but doesn’t know how to walk on a leash. She lives for playing fetch, is so unphased by everything- including being corralled with a pool skimmer and having my dogs try to attack her, and everyone who meets her wants her and loves her. She is vaccinated, and seems less than 2 years old. Looking for a home asap and/or help with vet and grooming bills. by @dawnbatson

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3 months ago

Thoughts on March: the highlight of the month was this perfect wedding. It’s not a contest but Nicole Zoppi saved my life and changed my life and has probably made me cry with laughter and shaped the foundation of my child’s personality more than any person on this planet and her happiness makes me so happy, and if it was a contest she would win it.

Several extra special babies were born this month, necessitating the hardest part of my job- contact naps which, for those who haven’t dabbled, feels like the best hug you’ve ever received.

Brana and I continue to search out dining establishments with pianos and also continue to casually exist amongst model breasts (and pelvises).

We scrambled up the coast and back in a mad dash before spending five seconds in Big Bear. It was interesting to take in such astounding beauty while grappling with the kinds of questions about the future we’re all grappling with (in my mind at least?) (Should we be doom planting lettuces and squashes again?? Should we live somewhere with more water?) Trying to find balance between the fear and the joy is a daily task, but seeing seal pups playing in the sea moves the needle.

Having a teenager is very cool so far. When I needed her to DJ late at night for our drive home she played exactly the songs I played on my cross country drives in my 20s. Her favorite thing in life is the sky. She somehow knows all the words to Careless Whisper, she loves Raymond Carver’s Cathedral, and she laughs at every single thing I laugh at. Who could want anything more? by @dawnbatson

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6 months ago

My baby is a teenager. She’s the person who makes me laugh the hardest. My favorite travel companion. My favorite dinner companion. My favorite person to sit and read with. My favorite person to watch extremely sad movies with. My favorite person to read aloud with as we sob to Where the Red Fern Grows. Nobody makes me want to be the best version of myself the way she does. She thanks me constantly and earnestly for almost everything I do for her. Her comedic timing astounds me. Her impressions are always spot on. I like her a whole lot. I found a blog I started writing of letters to her when I was pregnant, and wanted to share some of what made me cry today. by @dawnbatson

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8 months ago

I wanted to share something sweet and happy to balance out the heaviness, but I keep thinking of all the new parents trying to regulate their nervous systems while making breakfast and feeling an emotion I can’t quite name because words like outrage and disgust don’t even begin to cover it….

Yesterday, I took a break from watching the horrors to gather with some new families and for three hours babies grinned and slept in our arms and stared, dazzled, into other babies’ eyes and mothers laughed and fathers held their babies and talked to other parents. It was like I was fully breathing for the first time in a week. This is why it takes a village to raise a child. We need each other for so much more than just dividing and conquering. Isolation during times like this makes everything heavier, and a shared identity and purpose makes it all a little easier to bear.

Putting my phone down now, I’ve seen enough for today. Let’s get together. taken in The Hermosillo by @dawnbatson

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8 months ago

Did anyone else look back on 2016 this month for an Instagram trend and think, shit, I’ve gotten farther away from myself than I realized. by @dawnbatson

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9 months ago

What a way to ring in the new year! by @dawnbatson

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9 months ago

Just desperate to prove the good outweighed the bad in the most year of the snake year I’ve ever heard of. I don’t need any resolutions this year- I’m already an entirely different person from the person I was a year ago (for better and for worse?) but I wouldn’t have survived without these people (please never leave me I love you all desperately) (I’m fine) by @dawnbatson

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9 months ago