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Susan Zehnacker

@fleurishing

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🇨🇦 + 🇺🇸 writer • photographer • creator
fondatrice de ⚜️ @thefrancophiles
queer maman de deux📍à Tiohtià:ke/Montréal

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we are back📍in Québec! after years of planning, hoping, and working toward this goal, we’ve finally made the move to Montréal. while it still doesn’t feel real, what does feel real is this: I’m very proudly 🇨🇦 Canadian. this has been a long journey—one shaped by both privilege and sacrifice. I’ll always carry deep gratitude for this opportunity while firmly standing in solidarity with those fighting for justice.

sharing this news fills me with conflicting emotions. ultimately, I want to honor the courage it took to take this leap—I’m grateful to have my ❤️ children (and winni) by my side and have the steadfast support of their father. as parents of a trans/enby child, living in a country (et province⚜️) that actively protects and values their queer citizens has already brought us a sense of safety that we haven’t felt in a long time.

regardless of geography, we have to reckon with the harm America is inflicting, far beyond its borders. change doesn’t happen in isolation, and while no country is perfect, the systems that try to box us in won’t break unless we challenge them—together. wherever you are, I hope you find your people and build impenetrable community with them, because none of us are meant to do this alone ❤️‍🩹 xo, Susan taken in Parc du Mont-Royal by @fleurishing

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2 years ago

photo for the algo (please look up the meaning behind this Basquiat piece, Tuxedo) • we are witnessing a gen*cide in real time that 🇺🇸 tax dollars are paying for. educate yourself. call your reps. be loud in demanding a CEASEFIRE. amplify the voices of the oppressed (forever and always). every wound is connected…liberation for ALL or NONE.
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should you not be part of the overwhelming chorus screaming 🇵🇸 FREE PALESTINE 🍉 please unfollow. values mean more than a follower count. comments are closed—this isn’t a place for islamaphobia OR antisemitism. battle with bias, set aside egos, and acknowledge privilege. reserve your energy for the unwavering, critical work that is required of us ALL. by @fleurishing

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3 years ago

feeling the urge to post this summer image before its unofficial end. better LAKE than never, am I right?! sorry…I can’t resist a solid pun.
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our summer hasn’t looked like this (the photo is from last year) for a number of reasons. mainly, we’ve been in the midst of a move and haven’t had time. we managed a few pool swims and a splash in the local creek but honestly most of our summer has been spent unpacking boxes 📦 and settling in.
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manifesting being back here next summer (anytime of year, for that matter). our favorite season is just around the corner and we can’t wait! bring it on. taken in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania by @fleurishing

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3 years ago

my writing has found a new home and I’d love for you to join me there (link in bio). there are answers in the questioning (so I’ve been told)—I’ve been busy in the asking. the blog is still intact, but I’ve finally joined @substackinc in order to have the freedom to share more personal narratives and hone my skills. I’ll be publishing new content bi-weekly and can’t wait to connect! I have a few favorites but love recommendations, please share your favs 👇 taken in Valley Forge National Historical Park by @fleurishing

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3 years ago

celebrating our bastille 🇫🇷 day babies and their eleventh solar return! #henryetmarie are in full tween mode, and this age is one of my favorites. they are the loves 🤍 of my life, forever and always. by @fleurishing

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3 years ago

this is me in 2023…leaning into the light and living my truth. I AM QUEER 🏳️‍🌈 and ready to shout it from the rooftops! my soul is bursting with color, and I no longer wish to contain it. to be fair - I never did, but it’s taken me years to feel worthy of inhabiting space within the LGBTQ+ community.
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coming to this realization in my forties has been a complex cocktail of emotions. despite diverging from normative paths in other areas of life, I was so deeply entrenched in comphet that I couldn’t embrace the spectrum of love and opportunity that had been in front of me all along. in hindsight, it’s crystal clear…
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this journey wouldn’t even be possible without all the beautiful humans that fearlessly stood in their truth all along (especially Black and trans folk). my partner @mrfleurishing has been my biggest cheerleader 📣 as well as my children and close friends. thank you for your love while I come (out) into full bloom. by @fleurishing

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3 years ago

hesitating to let go of this season as it may be our most memorable winter ever. living in this country for three months has been an incredible gift and frankly—I’d never leave if given the choice. not only did we survive a Canadian winter…we thrived.
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p.s. - you have my 🤍 Québec, forever and always. taken in Québec, Canada by @fleurishing

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4 years ago

perhaps you’re expecting a beautiful quote here (believe me, I’m tempted) but instead I’m going to encourage you to notice the dish rag and tub next to the hydrangea. did I see them when I was drawn to ✨ the light? NOPE. do I still appreciate this image? damn right. there’s so much beauty in reality.
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finding words (here) has been difficult for me lately, but thankfully they’ve been pouring out 🖊️ of me elsewhere. this app has made me feel like if it’s not a reel then what’s the point. while I may not be giving you a reel, I am giving REAL. simply put—things are shifting in my life, and I’m gaining new perspectives.
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thank you for following along on our 🇨🇦 adventures in stories, we’ve been living here since early this year but will return home to Philadelphia soon. I still have so much to share, both here and on the blog! yep I’m still blogging, apparently I’m the only one without a Substack?! do you prefer it? dis-moi (tell me)👇 xo taken in Québec, Canada by @fleurishing

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4 years ago

the twins 🤍 are ten…apparently we blinked. I had a hard time with this one (so many emotions). we just got back from a week down south where we celebrated in style, thanks to our generous friends and family • the birthday fun continues this week, and I’ll be processing the fact that my babies are now double digits 😭 for a while. #henryetmarie taken in Charlotte, North Carolina by @fleurishing

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4 years ago

take a good look at this face. can you sense her strength and resolve? please know she represents only half of who we’re raising, and they both understand what’s at stake. this goes so much deeper than abortion (which we will continue to aid and abet). this is about freedom - and not just for those with a uterus. I am filled with rage—as a womxn, as a mother, as a human. channeling it into action in 3…2…1.
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please stay loud, donate if you can to local abortion funds or grassroots organizations like @abortionfunds. use your social platforms to lift up the voices that need to be heard the most (BIPOC, queer, economically oppressed)…we need to fight the hardest for them. sharing this image (from 2020) with Marie’s permission and understanding 🖤 she even helped compose this caption. #fuckscotus #roevwade #feminist by @fleurishing

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4 years ago

there are no words for what happened this week, and yet—so many. I no longer know how to be a mother in America. countless others have never known, and I acknowledge the privilege that comes with this (now irrefutable) feeling. we have no solution, and yet—we do. taken in Paris, France by @fleurishing

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4 years ago

hello friends…I’m making a change in my life and Mother’s Day seems an appropriate time to share it. I am returning to my roots and will be using my 🇫🇷 family surname Zehnacker (pronounced: ZEN-ah-kerr) from now on. this honors my matriline: my mother, grandmother, great grandmother etc…as well as my Alsatian heritage.
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this is something I’ve been considering for many years, and it finally feels like the right time. the reasoning behind it is a bit complex and I’ll save that conversation for another time, but I am proud to connect to my ancestors in this way and continue their legacy. my handle isn’t changing but I am…more to come on that soon 🖤 p.s. abortion is healthcare. by @fleurishing

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4 years ago